SM: Second Life
by Artemis Day
Summary: Tamaki's journey through death may be over, but his dealings with the spirit world are only just beginning. Sequel to Spirit Minded. TamaHaru.
1. The Two High School Mediums!

**A/N: This story is the sequel to my previous fic 'Spirit Minded'. If you are reading this and you have not read Spirit Minded, I STRONGLY recommend to do so now or else you will not understand anything that happens in this fic.**

**For those of you who HAVE read Spirit Minded, I'd like to thank you for your reviews and favorites. I hope you will continue to stick with me through the sequel.**

**That said, please enjoy!**

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><p>There was something very different about Tamaki Suoh.<p>

Everyone noticed it; his father, his guests, his best friend, his fellow hosts; everyone noticed, and everyone had different theories as to what it was.

His guests firmly believed that their Host Club King was in love, and it didn't bother them in the slightest. On the contrary, they all very much liked the idea, if only because of who most of them agreed was the object of his affections.

Haruhi Fujioka. Known among Host Club regulars as 'The Natural Type', and arguably the most popular Host aside from Tamaki himself. There was nothing to confirm the relationship, of course. They never exchanged 'I love you's' and they certainly never kissed. But something about their interactions with each other had changed since Tamaki woke up from his coma. Haruhi seemed a bit more eager to spent time around Tamaki and vice versa. Not to mention the little smiles they would occasionally share when one walked by the other's sitting area.

For the most part, things were business as usual for the Host Club, but those brief, fleeting moments were enough to send roughly 85 percent of the girls into a frenzy over the potential 'yaoi love' between Tamaki Suoh and Haruhi Fujioka. Of course, they already had Hikaru and Kaoru for that sort of thing, but there was something about a secret love, one that's hidden from the world and only visible for seconds at a time that made it all the more romantic and beautiful.

One can only wonder if they'd still feel that way if they knew the truth about Haruhi, but that speculation is for another day.

The Host Club knew for a fact that Tamaki and Haruhi were in love. The couple had made it abundantly clear the day after Tamaki woke up. They explained that they'd talked it over and agreed to keep their relationship a secret at school until Haruhi's graduation so she wouldn't have to leave the Host Club. Kyoya had been skeptical at first, but after seeing the reaction the couple's little 'slip-ups' caused in their guests, quickly changed his tune and all but encouraged them to continue.

Even so, he wasn't the only one with some doubts. Hikaru, when he first heard the news, became oddly silent and withdrawn. Not even Kaoru could figure out what was on his mind. He had an idea, since the older twins attention remained on Haruhi for the rest of the visit and later that night when they drove her home, but he didn't say anything.

In truth, the Host Club noticed something different about Tamaki too, but unlike the girls, they had absolutely no idea what it was. They'd occasionally see him standing in the corner, not crouched down and crying like one would suspect, just standing still and whispering to himself. He also spent a lot of time on the phone, but none of them could figure out who he was talking to since he remained quiet and secretive about that too.

Haruhi didn't have the same confusion the rest of the club did, leading them to believe she was in on whatever Tamaki was hiding. The only thing they could do now was come out and ask. Kyoya was very close to doing just that.

There was one more odd thing that began happening around a week after Tamaki returned to school. Kyoya kept a steady log of all the Club's guest, which made up almost the entire female (and a bit of the male) population of Ouran. There was one particular girl, however, whom he knew for a fact had never come to the Host Club even once before Tamaki's accident. One day just recently, she had opened the doors with no fear and strode forward, calmly requesting Tamaki as if she'd been doing it every day. Kyoya had been surprised, but hid it well as he directed her to Tamaki's table. Things only got stranger when she approached him, said a few words in his ear, and then Tamaki stood up and directed her to a small table all the way in the corner where no one could hear them.

It began happening like this almost every day. She'd arrived in a business-like fashion, inform Kyoya that she was here to see Tamaki, the two of them would go sit in the corner, and she'd be gone twenty minutes later while Tamaki returned to his regular table and greeted his next customer like nothing had happened.

Kyoya wasn't the only one to notice this either. Many of the customers who weren't fans of the whole Tamaki/Haruhi idea theorized that this girl was Tamaki's true lover. It would certainly explain their desire for complete privacy, these girls reasoned. The vast majority of 'TamaHaru' (as the couple had been dubbed) fans argued against this with increasing ferociousness. Some even took to glaring hatefully at the girl when she passed by and whispered rumors that she was trying to steal Tamaki from Haruhi.

If they only knew the truth of the situation, who knows what they would think. As it was, Miyako Kita could care less about their stupid babbling, and pointedly ignored all the negativity they threw at her, going about her business like it wasn't even there.

Two weeks had passed since she started visiting Tamaki. On this day, she arrived a bit later than usual and was breathing heavily as though she'd been running. Kyoya approached her with a smile as he did every day, a smile she never returned.

"Good Afternoon, Ms. Kita," The Shadow King said pleasantly. "I assume you're here for Tamaki again?"

"You assume correctly," Miyako answered with a nod.

With that, she walked passed the Ootori boy and made her way to the table in the corner where Suoh was waiting for her. She heard the usual whispers from other guests as she passed. Just the usual drivel about how she was 'such a harpy' and 'trying to destroy the perfect yaoi love'. All their comments did was make her feel like burst out laughing in their faces. It didn't help that a certain male ghost did just that almost every time, including right now as he waved hello at Miyako, earning a small smile that the now quite affronted girls could only assume was directed at them.

Tamaki grinned when Miyako stopped in front of him. Seated, he had to crane his neck up to see his classmate's face, but was face-to-face with her companion, one nobody alive but they two could see.

"Hello there," Tamaki smiled warmly at the female ghost, who shied away from him, hiding her face in the folds of Miyako's dress.

She was a bit older than Naru-chan, probably seven or eight, a bit chubby with brown hair up in pigtails and wide brown eyes with bags underneath.

Tamaki held out a hand in an effort to convey that he meant her no harm.

"It's okay," he said gently. "I won't hurt you, I'd just like to meet you. I'm Tamaki Suoh. What's your name?"

Again, he got no response. The girl's face wasn't even visible anymore as she'd buried it into Miyako's leg.

"She won't talk to me either," Miyako sighed as she sat down, careful not to disturb the girl too much. "I was hoping you could get something out of her, like why I had to chase her all around the campus. _Twice_."

Tamaki blinked. He glanced down at the girl again, but she was still trying to hide herself from sight. He wasn't the only one confused by her actions either. It probably wasn't helping the mysterious girl's anxiety that another little girl was currently watching her intently with wide eyed wonder. But then, Naru had always been very inquisitive. It made Tamaki wonder what kind of person she would have been had she lived long enough to grow into adulthood.

Ever since he'd revealed to them that he could see them, Tamaki's three ghost friends, Hoki, Elissa and Naru had been following him pretty much everywhere. It didn't really bother him, so long as they left him alone in the bathroom and while he was changing. And while on dates with Haruhi, of course.

Right now, Hoki was busying himself looking over Kyoya's shoulder to see what he was writing about (even though he'd claimed numerous times that it was all just 'boring junk') and Elissa was hanging out by Hunny-senpai and Mori-senpai, cooing over how adorable Hunny-senpai was and how he was the sweetest little boy she'd ever seen. Tamaki hadn't gotten around yet to telling her Hunny wasn't a child.

Unlike the other two, Naru preferred to stay close to Tamaki. Be it nervousness around so many strangers or just liking his company, she was almost always sitting beside him during club hours. As long as she stayed quiet, she wasn't a bother at all, and she was always happy to see Miyako especially if the female medium brought someone with her, like today.

"Why's she so scared?" the little girl asked Tamaki, who shook his head.

"I don't know, Naru-chan," He answered before looking at Miyako. "Any ideas?"

"Would I be here if I had one?" She asked in a flat tone.

"YES!" Hoki shouted from across the room, earning a glare from the female medium and a nervous chuckle from the male.

"Anyway," Miyako grumbled. "She's going to have to talk eventually if we're going to help her. I've already tried everything I can think of, now you're up, Suoh."

Tamaki gave a slight nod, taking note of Miyako's slightly frustrated tone and figuring she didn't like not being able to successfully reach the small ghost. The spirit in question was still hiding her face from view, and if she hadn't responded to his voice before, she probably wouldn't now. Tamaki scratched the back of his head, trying to think of a solution while Miyako waited expectantly.

"Let's see," He said to himself. "What do little girls like…? Oh! I know!"

Tamaki shot up out of his seat and sped off across the room leaving a bewildered Miyako behind with the two little ghosts. He returned a few seconds later, holding something brown, and quickly rearranged his chair so that it's back was facing the other people in the room. Tamaki sat back down, and in this position revealed exactly what he was holding.

"Suoh…" Miyako stared at the object in his hands. "Why do you have a stuffed bear here?"

Tamaki gave a child-like grin, but didn't answer her question.

He held the bear out while Miyako looked around to make sure nobody was watching. The nameless ghost peeked out from her hiding place for a second, and her gaze caught on the stuffed toy.

"This is Kuma-chan," he told her in a soft voice. "He's a good friend of mine, and I think he'd like to meet you."

The girl stared at the bear for a few seconds but made no indication that she was going to say or do anything. Then she stepped away from Miyako and tentatively approached him.

"He's a nice bear," her voice was dry and cracked.

Tamaki grinned, while Miyako could only stare, surprised that it had actually worked.

"So, what's your name little one?" Tamaki said in a funny voice as he moved Kuma-chan around a bit to make it look like the bear was the one talking.

"Akemi," the little ghost answered softly. "Nagata Akemi, I'm 6 ½."

"It's nice to meet you, Akemi," answered 'Kuma-chan'. "Is there something or someone you're looking for?"

At this, Akemi brightened a tiny bit, though her voice still betrayed more than a hint of sadness.

"I'm lost," she answered. "I ran away. Our house got on fire and then my mommy and daddy said we had to go see this pretty light, but it was scary! So I ran away, and now I don't know how to go home!"

* * *

><p>Miyako listened carefully during the whole story, pleased that the girl was finally opening up to them. She heard a sniffle, and didn't even have to look to know that Suoh was crying. She withheld a sigh, he was just too over emotional sometimes.<p>

It wasn't like Miyako didn't feel bad for the girl or anything, she'd just been doing this for so many years, she'd gotten used to seeing ghosts as young or even younger than Akemi-chan (as she thought this, she briefly glanced at Naru-chan). Suoh had only just recently gained the ability to see ghosts, so he still wasn't accustomed to things like this. Miyako tried her best to be patient with him, and he really could be helpful, but at times like this she really just wanted to smack him upside the head and yell at him to suck it up. It's not like he's seen the worst of it yet anyway.

Because when he did…

"Miyako?"

The female medium jerked from her thoughts as she heard Suoh call her name. He was looking at her with some light concern, as was Naru-chan and Akemi-chan.

"Are you alright?" Suoh asked.

Miyako blinked, then shook her head to clear her mind. "I'm fine, just thinking about some things."

This seemed to satisfy Suoh as his concerned look changed to one of cheerfulness.

"Well, Akemi-chan was just telling us her address. We can go there after Club Hours, or do you have something to do later today?"

Miyako shook her head, "No I'm free. Is Fujioka coming?"

Lately, Suoh's girlfriend had been accompanying them on 'jobs' if she had the time to. Even though she couldn't see or hear the ghosts, she was helpful when it came to getting information out of the living.

"She might," Suoh answered. "I'd have to ask her."

Miyako glanced over at the girl in question. Fujioka was sitting down with some of her own customers, who were laughing as if she'd just told them a hilarious joke. Fujioka herself was just smiling lightly. It was actually kind of amazing how good at this hosting thing she was, and she really did look like a convincing boy, it was no wonder even Miyako herself had been fooled. Beside her, Suoh was staring at Fujioka like she was a Goddess on a pedestal. Pretty much his default expression when it came to the one year younger girl.

"She's so beautiful," He gushed, literal stars in his eyes. "I can hardly take my eyes off her. My beloved Haruhi…"

Miyako gave the lovestruck fool a flat look. "You know you're _drooling _right? That's not exactly romantic."

Seconds later, everyone in the Third Music jumped in shock as Miyako Kita's angered and annoyed voice rang out.

"DAMMIT SUOH, GET OUT OF THAT CORNER RIGHT NOW!"

* * *

><p>When Club Hours ended, Tamaki walked with purpose to the main entrance, Haruhi and Miyako on either side of him. Akemi stuck close to Tamaki, as did Naru, who didn't look exactly pleased to see another ghost (figuratively) clinging to him. Hoki and Elissa brought up the rear, a tense air surrounding them as the latter had once again managed to do something the former found offensive, but instead of yelling about what a cretin he was, Elissa had opted to just give him the cold shoulder, a sentiment Hoki had no problem returning.<p>

"Okay," Tamaki said in an authorative 'leader' tone. "I don't think Akemi-chan lived that far away. Kenji can find it, right?"

"Right," Miyako answered with a shrug. "He's been around the Bunkyo district enough times to drive blindfolded. I called him a few minutes ago, he should be outside waiting."

The twenty-something chauffeur was indeed there when the group exited the building, however, he was a bit too preoccupied at the moment to notice them coming.

"We gotta hooold ooon, to what we've gooooot," Kenji sang very badly along to the song blaring out of his headphones, using his tire iron as a fake microphone. "It doesn't make a difference if we make it or noooooooot!"

Haruhi raised an eyebrow and glanced at Tamaki, who glanced at Miyako, who appeared completely unaffected by the older man's display. Hoki laughed raucously in the background.

"OOOOOOH, WE'RE HALFWAY THE-ERE!" Kenji sang as loudly as he could. "OOOOOOO-OOOOOOH! LIVING ON A PRAAAAaaaaa-"

Kenji whirled around in an awkward sort of dance and finally noticed he was being watched. Eyes wide with embarrassment, he straightened up, dropped the tire iron and pulled his headphones off, allowing a short silence while he tried to figure out what to say.

"…Hi!" Was all he could think of. "Uh… You guys have fun today?"

"Probably not as much as you've been," Miyako answered flatly.

Kenji chuckled nervously and rubbed his neck. "Yeah, it would be really cool if you guys didn't tell Rika about this."

Miyako just shrugged, then noticed Suoh and Fujioka's bewildered faces looking to her for an explanation.

"You'll get used to it," was Miyako's only response as she walked to the waiting limousine.

* * *

><p>Akemi sat back in her seat as much as she could. Hoki had tried to give her his, 'don't think about the seat' advice, but Tamaki quickly stopped him. He noticed that Akemi seemed much more, for lack of a better term, lively than before. He wondered for a moment what she'd have been like as an adult, but ended that train of thought almost as quickly as he'd thought it up. He already had Naru for that train of thought anyway.<p>

He knew that he was being overly sensitive. Miyako had told him more than enough times that he would have to get used to seeing deceased children as young as or even younger than Naru-chan; she was bad enough as it was. A girl as sweet and energetic as her didn't deserve to die. He didn't even know what had happened to her, even though he'd thought about asking. Somehow, he just couldn't do it.

"By the way, Akemi-chan," Miyako broke the silence. "Why did the light scare you?"

The little girl blinked up at her, a tiny frown appearing on her face.

"I don't like bright lights," She answered. "They hurt my eyes and they make weird shapes."

The two mediums glanced at each other.

"Well, this light won't hurt your eyes," Tamaki took over for Miyako. "It's a good light, it'll take you and your mommy and daddy to a wonderful place were you'll be very happy."

"Will Hana be there?"

Whatever response they were expecting, that wasn't it.

"Who the hell is Hana?" Hoki piped in.

Miyako glared at him as did Elissa, but Akemi didn't seem to mind the language.

"Hana's my dog!" She answered. "She um… she ran away when the fire happened. The truth is, I didn't run just 'cause I was scared, I wanted to find her too."

Tamaki glanced at Miyako, who silently urged him to answer.

"Well," He started. "If she wasn't in the house when it burned down, she probably survived, so…"

He trailed off. Akemi's wide eyed stare showed pure desire for an affirmative response, one that Tamaki couldn't give. Again, he looked at Miyako. The girl was giving him the same face as before, silently telling him that he had to answer. It would hurt, she knew, the little girl would not be happy at all to find that her beloved pet couldn't come to Heaven with her. He opened his mouth, trying his hardest to get the words out, but he simply couldn't.

This wasn't the first time he'd had this problem either. They had encountered a teenager who'd died in a car accident and didn't realize she was dead until they found her. Tamaki had tried to explain the situation to her, but a combination of empathy and an innate desire to never make a girl sad for any reason completely blocked him from voicing the truth, and in the end, Miyako had to be the one to give the bad news. Just as she would have to now.

"No, Akemi-chan," The female medium responded. "I'm afraid Hana won't be there."

The girl's head snapped around to Miyako, and though he couldn't see her face, Tamaki was sure she looked ready to cry. He could never figure out if it was a good thing or a bad thing that ghosts couldn't.

"You know," Haruhi's sarcasm-dripping voice suddenly appeared after an extended silence. "One of the best things about coming with you guys is that you always keep me in the loop."

Tamaki blinked, then his face heated up in embarrassment as he shrunk back a bit in his seat and shakily brought her up to speed on what was happening.

* * *

><p>Akemi remained quiet the entire rest of the way. She looked like she did earlier that day when Miyako had first brought her. Many times, Tamaki wanted to say something to her, but he had no idea what to say that would cheer her up. It made him feel rather sad, he never had this problem hosting. Something about knowing the ghosts he met weren't alive anymore made him feel more than a bit nervous around them, though Miyako assured him that feeling would eventually go away.<p>

"We're here!" Kenji said a few minutes later while pulling the limousine to a stop.

Getting out, Tamaki noticed they were getting more than a few stares. It didn't bother him much, nor did it Miyako, but Haruhi clearly had something to say about it.

"Maybe next time, we should use something a little less conspicuous?" She suggested to Miyako.

"We could use the Porsche," Kenji called to them with more than a hint of enthusiasm.

"I think that would attract about the same amount of attention," Miyako answered him. "This isn't the richest neighborhood."

"…but I like driving the Porsche."

The three ignored him and, along with the four ghosts, stepped out in front of the house. Or rather, what _used_to be the house. Akemi hadn't been kidding when she said her house had caught fire. There was literally nothing left aside from a pile of charred wood and the remains of what appeared to be a mailbox.

Tamaki suddenly recalled something he'd briefly seen in Kyoya's newspaper a few days ago about a enormous fire that killed an entire family. He probably should've suspected Akemi was part of that family, but somehow, he hadn't. Now, knowing this, he felt another wave of sadness and pity for the poor child and her family. He could only hope they'd find peace in the next life. But first they'd have to actually _find_her family.

"See any cops?" Miyako asked. "Firemen? Anything?"

"No, I think they'd have left by now," answered Haruhi. "What about you two, are Akemi's parents here?"

The two mediums, along with the ghosts, took their cue to begin searching. It proved to be harder than one might think. They searched around the remains of the house and the surrounding area. It wasn't easy for them since they didn't know what Akemi's parents looked like and couldn't tell the difference between a human and a ghost unless one approached them. In the end, they looked in vain for almost twenty minutes.

"They couldn't have left or something, could they?" Haruhi suggested at one point. "Maybe they were looking for Akemi-chan?"

"It's possible," Tamaki answered, defeated. "But we'll never find them if that's the case."

"I don't know," Hoki wandered over. "I bet this'll be like a TV show and we'll find them right when everything looks hopeless, kind of like right no-"

"MOMMY! DADDY!"

Akemi, who'd previously been being watched by Elissa along with Naru-chan, wrenched her hand free and ran to a man and woman across the street. The couple did the same as soon as they heard the little girl's voice.

"Akemi!" The woman cried, grabbing her daughter into her arm. "Thank goodness, we were so worried about you."

The family of three shared a group hug while everyone sans Haruhi looked on.

"See, what'd I tell you?" Hoki asked in a self-satisfied fashion. "Didn't I tell them, Elissa?"

"I'm still not talking to you, Cretin."

"How could you run off like that?" Akemi's father was saying. "We looked everywhere for you."

"I'm sorry," Akemi answered tearfully. "I was scared, and I wanted to find Hana, but I couldn't and I know she can't come with us, but…"

As the small family had their reunion, Tamaki stood back with his friends. This was the first time he'd seen an entire family of ghosts like this. He felt… well, he honestly didn't feel as sad as he thought he would. They were all dead, yes, but at least they still had each other.

"What's going on?" Haruhi whispered to him. "Akemi-chan found her parents, right?"

"Yeah," Tamaki answered with a small smile. "I guess they can move on now."

"It's sad that we didn't find out about her dog," Naru murmured. "I always wanted one too."

"Excuse me!"

Tamaki jolted at the new voice, as did Haruhi, which told him it was coming from a living person. Indeed, a middle aged woman was walking towards them, eyeing the limousine with a look of caution.

"I don't mean to be a bother," The woman said. "But what exactly are you three doing here?"

Tamaki was taken aback by the woman's rude tone, but Haruhi and Miyako were more ready to respond.

"Is there a rule that says we can't stand here?" Miyako answered in annoyance.

"We're just passing through," Haruhi jumped in quickly. "We heard about the fire and wanted to stop and pay our respects, that's all."

At this, the woman's face softened. She suddenly looked less angry and much more sad and tired.

"I see," She answered, her voice was softer too. "Forgive me, there were a lot of reporters around here the last few days, and they were all very selfish and rude people. The Nagata's were good friends of mine and my family, you see, I hate the thought that their memory is just being used to get higher ratings for a bunch of heartless news channels. I've never liked the news anyway…"

The woman trailed off, mumbling something to herself. Behind her, the door to the house she'd come out of opened again, and a teenage girl stepped out along with a large dog she held on a leash.

"Hey mom," the girl called out to the woman. "We're going for a walk!"

"Alright, dear," The woman shouted back. "Be home in time for supper."

The girl nodded and let the dog guide her down the sidewalk. As they crossed the street, Akemi's eyes widened, and she began to struggle to get out of her mother's grip.

"THERE SHE IS!" The small ghost screamed. "IT'S HANA!"

"That's Hana?" Tamaki responded before he could stop himself, earning a confused look from the woman.

"How did you know that?" She asked him.

Put on the spot, Tamaki could sense Miyako's glare without even looking at her. Luckily, this was a living person he was dealing with.

"I recognize her from when Akemi-chan used to walk her through the park," the Host Club King lied easily. "That's how we knew her and her family. We frequented the same park. I'd been wondering what would happen to Hana now that Akemi-chan and her family are…"

He didn't need to finish, the woman understood completely and gave a nod.

"Yes, I know," She said solemnly. "Akemi-chan loved Hana, that dog was her best friend. I felt it was only right that we should take her in, rather than let the pound have her. I've worked with animals before and it's not exactly the best place for some dogs."

Tamaki nodded, a smile forming on his face.

"Then I suppose Hana will be okay now," Haruhi piped in. "She's found a good home."

The woman gave Haruhi a look of thanks before apologizing for her disturbance one more time and taking her leave. When she was far enough away, Tamaki turned his attention back to the family of spirits. Akemi's parent wore identical looks of gratitude for their former neighbor, while Akemi remained silent, clearly processing all of this.

"So… Hana is alright?" she asked no one in particular. "She's happy?"

There was a slight pause, then Miyako stepped forward when a warm smile and crouched down to Akemi's level.

"She's very happy," the female medium told her. "And one day, I promise you'll see her again, but until then, know that's she has a good home and watch over her from heaven, okay?"

The girl looked from Miyako to her parent and back, then broke out in a smile.

"Okay, thank you Miyako-san," she said with a polite bow. "Thank you, Tamaki-san!"

He gave her a nod in response as a white light appeared around Akemi-chan and her parents. Bright as it was, it didn't hurt his eyes, though looking up, he couldn't see what it led to.

"There it is again," Akemi's mother said in awe. "It's so beautiful."

Akemi's father nodded in agreement. The small girl stood between her parents, holding their hands. The family gave one last look of thanks to Tamaki and Miyako as they were bathed in the Heavenly light.

"Thank you for finding her!" Akemi's father called to them.

They began to slowly disappear from sight, the light growing ever brighter, and when they completely vanished, the light did as well. Tamaki had been reduced to tears, as he had every other time he saw someone go into it. The first time, he'd bawled like a baby for ten whole minutes, and earned little more than odd looks from Hoki, Elissa and Naru-chan, and intense annoyance from Miyako.

"After you've seen it enough times," The girl explained later when Tamaki asked why she didn't cry. "It stops being special."

Her words were cold, but Tamaki supposed he understood. He was new to this, having only received his abilities after a near-death experience. Miyako was born with it, and grew up with the knowledge that ghosts existed and eventually went on to a better place. Still, he'd probably never stop tearing up a bit every time he watched a spirit leave this plane and go on to the next.

Sad as his new job may have been sometimes, this always made it worthwhile.

* * *

><p>They drove Haruhi home first since her place was the closest. Like a gentlemen, Tamaki insisted on walking her up the steps, even though Haruhi could do it herself and constantly let him know this.<p>

It didn't really bother Haruhi as much as she let on. She'd long ago realized that it was simply Tamaki's nature to be overprotective, even when he clearly didn't need to be. It was honestly an endearing quality of his, because she knew it showed just how much he cared about her.

They walked up the stairs together and down the walkway to Haruhi's door. Tamaki seemed lost in thought, which piqued Haruhi's curiosity.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

Tamaki blinked and then looked at her, as if only just realizing she was there.

"Oh no," he answered with a light stammer. "It's nothing, I was just thinking about today…"

Haruhi nodded and smiled. "I'm glad Akemi-chan found her family. I hope they're all okay now."

"They are," Tamaki responded with a nod of his own. "They have to be, it is Heaven after all. It just sad that Akemi-chan had to… had to die at all."

He stopped walking and Haruhi followed suit.

"It's not like I haven't seen ghosts that young before," He continued. "But just the thought that people can die so young, it…"

He trailed off, but Haruhi kept silent. She could tell he had more to say no matter how hard it may be.

"I often wonder if I can really handle it," he finally finished.

Haruhi studied Tamaki for a moment. She'd seen him look sad before, but never quite like this. It was both humanizing and strange, and she much preferred to see him smiling than anything else. In truth, she knew there wasn't much she could do to ease his sadness.

When he'd first told her that he was seeing ghosts, she hadn't believed him. Sure, Miyako-senpai could see them, but she was born with it and Tamaki wasn't. Surely then he couldn't actually be serious. He was, as she quickly found out.

It was something she could never truly share with him, and she knew it. She was just as blind to the world of the dead as anyone else, but even so, she wouldn't let that stop her. Haruhi loved Tamaki with all her heart, and she'd do whatever she could to help make this easier for him.

With that in mind, Haruhi wrapped her arms around Tamaki waist, taking him by surprise from the sound of his soft gasp.

"You can do this," she whispered. "I know you can… but if you ever feel like it's becoming too much, know that I'll always be here for you, and you can cry on my shoulder all you want."

Tamaki listened to her words with utmost attention, and they brought a different kind of tear to his eye. He thanked God everyday for giving such a wonderful young woman to fall in love with. Tamaki gently grasped Haruhi by the shoulders and moved away from her a bit so he could pull her into a kiss more easily. Haruhi responded immediately, and they spent the next few moments completely lost in each other. Haruhi's hand ran through Tamaki's hair as he deepened the kiss, opening his mouth a bit to-

"AHEM!"

The couple sprang apart. Tamaki's eyes snapped open, revealing Ranka Fujioka leaning against the open door to his and Haruhi's apartment. The tranny was glaring at Tamaki with a mixture of anger and fatherly protectiveness. Even though Haruhi's father had always known they would eventually be together, it seemed that still wouldn't stop him from holding Tamaki in contempt. Though to be fair, he was beginning to warm up to Tamaki, he hadn't shoved his head into the carpet for five days now!

"Have fun Ghost-hunting?" The tranny deadpanned.

Tamaki and Haruhi stood stock still for a moment, before Haruhi finally gave a sigh and flashed her boyfriend an apologetic smile.

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" She got up on tip-toes to give Tamaki a quick peck on the lips. "I love you."

"Love you too," Tamaki answered somewhat inattentively.

He was a bit distracted at the moment by Ranka's cold glare. The older man's eyes continually bore into his even after Haruhi entered the apartment, and Tamaki didn't dare make any sudden movements until he was sure the danger (read: Ranka) had passed.

The tranny lifted a hand, his middle and index finger pointed outward and aimed them at his eyes. He then turned them on Tamaki, making his message abundantly clear and reigniting fear in the blonde's stomach.

Ranka wordlessly walked back inside and shut the door hard behind him. Tamaki remained for a few moments, allowing his fast beating heart to calm down before he walked back to Miyako's limousine.

It seemed no matter how sad or frightening the ghosts he encountered were, nothing would ever terrify him quite as much as the anger of Ranka Fujioka.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Okay, the first chapter is done and... I honestly think it could have been a lot better. I don't even know WHY it was so hard to write, only the last part was easy, everything else I ckept getting stuck over and over again. Oh well, I suppose it's not terrible and it IS mostly just meant to re-introduce the characters. I promise the next chapter will be much better.**

**Just a few quick things I want to note because I know I'm going to get asked about this.**

**1. Yes, Ranka knows about Tamaki being a medium. That'll be elaborated on more in later chapters.**

**2. No, the Host Club (sans Haruhi) doesn't know. Yet.**

**3. Tamaki's Father and Grandmother don't know either, however a few of the people who work for him do, including Shima. Once again, there'll be more on this in later chapters.**

**That's about it for now. :D Thank you for reading and I'll see you next time!**


	2. Ghost Hunting!

6 o'clock in the morning. All was quiet in the Kita Household. The servants had either returned to their quarters or gone out for a night off. 30 minutes from now, Miyako's alarm clock would ring, signaling the start of a new day. For now, the medium slept on, blissfully unaware of the world around her or of the figure standing at the foot of her bed.

He stood completely still, staring down at the young woman with wide, unblinking eyes. They ran up and down her body again and again. A grin slowly formed on his face.

Miyako shifted from her side to her stomach, her clothed back fully exposed and giving the spirit a perfect opportunity. It clenched it's fingers a few times before reaching out and allowing the appendages to sink into her back. The spirit's grin widened as it was dragged into the medium's body.

For another second, Miyako's body remained still, then she began to fidget in her sleep. She let out a groan as her head jerked in both directions. She took a breath, but her throat was closed. Miyako awoke immediately. She shoot up in bed, clutching her head in her hands and opening her mouth in a silent scream. She twisted and jerked around, fighting as hard as she could against the invading force.

Whatever it was pressed against her mind, clouding her thoughts and causing her to almost lose the battle. Miyako focused everything she had on getting the spirit out, and her struggles paid off as she felt it get sucked back out the way it came.

"AAAAAARGH!" The scream finally ripped out of her.

She sprang out of bed and grabbed the flashlight she kept beside her. Shining it around the room revealed nothing, so she sprinted to the opposite wall to switch the lights on. Breathing heavily, Miyako scanned the room, but there was nothing and no one to be found. However, she could very clearly hear an unmistakable sound coming from far up above her, in a place no living person could possibly reach.

Laughter.

Taunting, child-like laughter.

Miyako stared at her ceiling, listening intently as the sound slowly died away. When it was gone, she groaned a second time and slid down the wall into a sitting position.

"Not again," she muttered. "I _hate_it when this happens."

* * *

><p>Tamaki Suoh loved days like this. The sun was shining, the weather was surprisingly warm for winter, and his lovely girlfriend was sitting beside him in the Rose Garden. He took a deep breath, taking in the fresh air. It was times like this when he was the most happy to be alive.<p>

"It's so beautiful out here," he sighed. "I wish we could stay like this forever."

Beside him, Haruhi let out a soft laugh.

"I don't think that would work," she answered. "Kyoya-senpai wouldn't like it if we skipped the club."

Tamaki's face fell and he started to shiver at the thought of Kyoya's wrath.

_"I'm aware that you are excited about this new relationship of yours, but I hope it won't affect your performance in the Host Club. It wouldn't do with our customers if you suddenly stopped coming, and I myself wouldn't appreciate you shirking on your responsibilities."_

"Mother can be so scary," Tamaki whimpered, fearful tears streaming down his face.

Haruhi rolled her eyes.

* * *

><p>They arrived just on time for club hours. Luckily for Tamaki, Kyoya only had time to shoot a frightening glare at them before the customers swarmed in. The couple immediately went to their respective tables, but not before flashing each other knowing smiles that made the girls who could see it swoon.<p>

The first hour went by normally. Tamaki entertained his guests, Naru-chan sat next to him staring with wonder at the shiny tea set; Elissa cooed over Hunny-senpai; Hoki stood in the background and mocked the girl's behavior for his own amusement.

Nothing particularly out of the ordinary happened until around 5:00, when the double doors burst open and Miyako charged inside, bypassing Kyoya and making a beeline for Tamaki. He didn't even have time to issue her a greeting as she grabbed him by the collar and practically dragged him to their usual area.

She let him go, and Tamaki took a moment to massage his neck before opening his mouth to question the girl's strange behavior. He was unable to, as Miyako beat him to the punch.

"You need to come to my house tonight."

It was a statement, not a question. Her tone left no room for argument, leaving Tamaki with the implication that the situation was serious. Plus, there was no way Miyako would invite him into her house otherwise. Of course, none of this meant Tamaki had nothing to say about it.

"You… why?" He managed to ask.

Miyako didn't moved, though he detected a hint of embarrassment in her face. Her shoulders sagged and her eyes fell to the floor as she gave her answer.

"M…ouse i…aun…"

Tamaki blinked. "What?"

With a growl, Miyako's eyes returned to his.

"I said," she began in a much firmer voice. "My house is haunted."

"…by a ghost?"

Miyako gave him a flat look.

"Okay," Tamaki answered, recognizing his stupid question. "How long has this been going on for?"

"Since at least this morning," Miyako was looking away again, as if not wanting to go on. "It tried to possess me while I was sleeping, but I fought it off."

Tamaki didn't respond right away, his mind was busy processing what she'd just told him and the implications behind it.

"Wait," he finally said. "Are you telling me a ghost can take over your body while you're _sleeping?_"

"Pretty much," Miyako wasn't one for sugar-coating. "They can't take full control unless you're conscious and allow them to, so it never actually works. The problem is getting them to come out. That takes a lot of effort and hurts like hell."

She stopped when she noticed Tamaki cowering in his chair like a small child watching a scary movie. She scoffed.

"You think you're scared now," she told him. "Wait until it actually happens to you."

With a sigh, Miyako sat down across from Tamaki and placed her laced fingers on the table.

"You can take your own car, but I'd recommend you stop at home first to get a change of clothes since this'll probably be an all-nighter."

"Okay," Tamaki nodded, until her words sank in and he started. "Did you just say an all-nighter? Like, me staying at your house _all night_?"

"Yeah," Miyako answered with a nod. "Is that a problem?"

Tamaki sputtered for a moment, and Miyako looked around inconspicuously to make sure no one had noticed.

"It's a strictly professional thing," she explained to him. "When it's over, you can sleep in one of our guest rooms."

"What about Haruhi?" Tamaki finally managed to get his thoughts in order. "She may not like me staying at another girls house. What if she gets the wrong idea?"

Miyako raised an eyebrow at him. "I may not have known Fujioka for very long, but she doesn't strike me as the jealous type."

_'That's more YOUR department,'_her expression clearly added.

"But if it really bothers you that much," she continued. "Invite her along."

"Is that okay," the unsure Tamaki asked. "She won't get hurt, right?"

Miyako responded with a shrug as she leaned back in her seat. "I doubt it. The ghost can't really do anything to her since she's not sensitive to him. We're way more at risk than anyone else."

Tamaki nodded, and looked over at Haruhi, who was talking to a few girls about something and making them laugh. He tried not to do this too much during club hours, because he always found he couldn't look away. Haruhi was just so beautiful and perfect in every way. The way she laughed.

"Suoh,"

The way she smiled.

"Suoh."

The way she kissed…

"SUOH!"

Tamaki shrieked, drawing more than a bit of attention to himself while beside him, Miyako brought a hand to her forehead and sighed angrily.

* * *

><p>"No Dad, of course not…" Haruhi said into the phone. "…yeah, it'll just be me and Miyako-senpai… of course not, why would he be there? …She said she could bring me to school tomorrow. I have my homework and everything I need in my bag… Okay, thanks Dad… I love you too."<p>

Haruhi turned the phone off and put it in her bag. When she looked back up, she was met by her boyfriend's questioning eyes.

"You told him I wasn't coming?" He asked, sounding a tiny bit hurt.

Haruhi shrugged. "Do you really think he'd be okay with this if he knew you'd be there?"

Tamaki thought about this, and had to admit she'd done the right thing. He'd already had a discussion with Ranka about his conduct around Haruhi. The tranny had been incredibly firm and no-nonsense about what he expected of him.

* * *

><p><em>SEVERAL WEEKS AGO<em>

_"I want you to understand, Suoh," Ranka stepped around the kitchen table, causing Tamaki to move back as well. "Haruhi is my only daughter and my little angel. She means the world to me, and she just happens to have chosen you to be her boyfriend."_

_Without looking away from Tamaki, Ranka reached for a drawer and pulled it open._

_"I've already spoken to Haruhi about this, and I know that I can't stop her from seeing you, nor will I try. No matter what my opinion of you may be, Haruhi loves you, and for her sake, I won't get in the way of that. However…"_

_The tranny smiled slightly and pulled a large knife out of the drawer. Tamaki gulped and began to sweat._

_"If I find out you've been doing anything… unsavory to my daughter, especially without her permission, I'm going to have to use this on you. Do you understand, Suoh?"_

_Tamaki nodded rapidly._

_"I understand, sir," he forced himself not to stutter. "I would never do anything to hurt Haruhi, and if I did, I wouldn't blame you for stabbing me."_

_"Who said anything about stabbing?" Ranka asked, his smile gaining a disturbing edge._

_The older man glanced at the front of Tamaki's pants as the knife's blade gleamed._

_"This is a CUTTING knife."_

* * *

><p>"Tamaki," Haruhi called out to the unresponsive young man next to her, who was white and shaking as he crossed his legs together. "Tamaki, are you alright?"<p>

"NO I'M FINE EVERYTHING'S FINE!"

Haruhi and Miyako glanced at each other, but said nothing else about Tamaki's strange behavior.

* * *

><p>The Kita home was just like Tamaki remembered, except the window panes on either side of the large front door looked and smelled like they'd been freshly painted. The trio walked up the stairs while Kenji drove the limousine into the parking garage. Miyako pulled out a key and opened the door slowly, allowing Tamaki and Haruhi to enter first.<p>

"You have a nice place, Miyako-senpai," Haruhi commented, looking around at the various decorations.

"I suppose so," Miyako didn't seem to agree. "Most of it is just Kyung experimenting. She gets a bit carried away."

Haruhi eyed a seven foot, solid gold elephant statue in the corner and gave a nod.

"I see."

Somewhere upstairs, a door slammed open.

"MIYAKOOOOOOO!"

Miyako's eyes widened.

"Oh, crap!"

Tamaki then gave a yelp as Miyako grabbed him by the collar and dragged him over to a door. She opened it, threw him inside, and slammed it shut again.

"What are you doing?" the incredulous Haruhi demanded.

Before Miyako could answer, a figure bolted down the long stairwell and tackled her into a hug. Haruhi could see that the 'attacker' was a man in his forties, who looked a bit like a male Miyako except with a cheerful grin she never sported.

"There you are," the man cried. "My darling daughter, Miyako! DADDY MISSED YOU SO MUCH!"

Miyako, for her part, stood completely still against her father. The effect was that the hug looked incredibly awkward and one sided, even as the female medium gave her father's back and awkward pat.

"Fujioka," Miyako calmly addressed the stunned Haruhi. "This is my father, Shinji Kita. Dad, this is Haruhi Fujioka. Remember I told you she'd be spending the night?"

Mr. Kita loosened his grip on Miyako as he gazed over at Haruhi. There was a short pause before the man released his daughter and almost ran to Haruhi. Instead of hugging her, he grasped her arm and shook it a bit roughly.

"Why yes!" He exclaimed. "I was so surprised when Miyako-chan told me a friend would be sleeping over. I know she doesn't really have any."

Haruhi sweat dropped while Miyako began to grind her teeth in annoyance.

"And you're such a polite looking young lady too," Mr. Kita's eyes were practically glowing. "THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEFRIENDING MY DAUGHTER!"

"OKAY, thank you Dad," Miyako interrupted loudly as she walked over and not-to-subtly separated her father and Haruhi's hands. "We'll just be going upstairs, now."

"Say no more!" Mr. Kita answered cheerfully.

With that, the man ran back up the stairs like a small child running a race. He stopped at the top of the stairs to call back down:

"Have fun, girls! And remember, NO BOYS!"

Miyako just gave a fake grin and nodded. When he was gone, she let out a breath and darted to the closet she'd just thrown Tamaki into. He sputtered angrily as she pulled him back out, but Miyako spoke before he could yell or demand answers.

"You need to keep quiet and out of sight, Suoh," She told him sternly. "My father is kind of overprotective when it comes to me and guys. He doesn't know you're here, nor can he. He'll kick you out if he finds you."

"So you threw me in a closet?" He shouted despite her warning.

Miyako shushed him and looked up at the stairs to make sure her father hadn't heard. Seeing nothing, she turned back to the now slightly calmer Tamaki.

"Alright, fine. I'm sorry I threw you in the closet," she ground out. "Just try to stay out of sight until everyone goes to bed, okay?"

"Okay," Tamaki answered with a nod.

Another door opened upstairs.

"Oh Miyako?" Mr. Kita's voice rang out again. "I forgot to tell you something!"

"Just a second, dad," Miyako shouted back as she once again pushed Tamaki into the closet.

* * *

><p><strong>12:30 am<strong>

Haruhi and Miyako sat in the latter's room. Tamaki stood across from them, waiting by the door leading to Miyako's personal bathroom in case somebody came in and he needed to hide.

Yomiko and Yoko had gone to bed five hours ago. Her father and Kyung usually turned in around this time. The servants were all asleep in their quarters aside from Rika, who according to Miyako, was on a date tonight. Miyako listened carefully, both for the door to her father's room to close and for a sign from the ghost. She hadn't heard a peep from it since this morning, but she had a good feeling it was still there. She could only hope they'd find it tonight and before it got to be too late. She knew that when deprived of sleep, she could get a bit irritable.

A door closed, putting the ears of everyone present on the alert. Tamaki, Haruhi and the three ghosts kept their eyes on Miyako, waiting for her to give the okay. Another minute passed, Miyako counted the seconds in her head. She heard no other sound and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay," she said. "I think we're good."

Both Tamaki and Haruhi let out a breath while Hoki groaned through his teeth.

"Man, I HATE having to stay quiet," The ghost complained. "It's so difficult!"

"You didn't have to keep quiet, Cretin, they can't hear you," Elissa drawled. "Of course, you SHOULD keep quiet, preferably forever."

Hoki glared at her and shrugged. "Whatever, can I watch TV?"

Miyako sighed, waving her hand. "Just keep it low."

Once he was gone, Miyako and Haruhi stood up and Tamaki walked over.

"So, how is this going to work?" he asked.

"We're going to have to search the whole house," Miyako explained. "It probably hasn't made any noise yet because of all the people around during the day. For some reason, ghosts like this prefer to come out only when they believe everyone is asleep."

Haruhi raised an eyebrow. "You speak as if you have experience."

Miyako stopped, her mouth partially open. A glance at Suoh showed he was thinking the same thing, even though he hadn't questioned her like Fujioka. Inwardly, the female medium groaned. If there was one thing she hated more than situations like this, it was having to explain them to other people. Normally, this was bearable since she was only telling Kenji, Rika and maybe Mrs. Noda. This was Tamaki Suoh and Haruhi Fujioka. The latter she didn't even know very well, not that she and the former were life-long friends either. Still, she could sense no way around this, and any lie she told would probably sound like something out of a bad horror movie.

Miyako clicked her teeth together. "You're right, this has happened to me before."

Dual looks of shock appeared on the couple's faces, but Miyako remained unfazed.

"This has happened with two other ghosts," She elaborated, alleviating some of their fears. "This is the 3rd time, I believe. The first two were different each time, that's why I don't really know what we're dealing with here."

"What did the first two want?" Haruhi asked.

"The first one was just scared," Miyako answered with a shrug. "He was newly dead and didn't understand what was happening to him. I explained everything, and he went off peacefully. The second was a bit more…"

Her pause alone made Tamaki's fear grow again. A million different words flashed through his mind that could easily be attached to the end of her sentence.

"…loud."

That wasn't one of them.

Tamaki started a bit. "Loud? What does that mean?"

"He thought it would be funny to jump out at me through walls, scream in my ear at dinner and, like this particular ghost, possess me while I was sleeping. Once he figured out that he couldn't, he just upped the ante on the other two until I finally managed to get rid of him. And don't ask how I did that. It's a long, complicated story that I'd rather not remember. Any more questions?"

Haruhi nodded her head no, but Tamaki remained still.

"It must have been scary for you."

For the second time that day, Tamaki received a completely flat look from his fellow medium along with an eye roll for good measure.

"Suoh, I've been doing this for years," she told him defensively. "I don't get _scared_of something as a harmless as a ghost. It was extremely annoying, yes, but not scary."

She turned and began walking to the door, but Tamaki wasn't finished yet.

"I just thought you'd asked for me and Haruhi to come because you were nervous after the last time," he explained. "I figured you didn't want to do it alone again."

Miyako's hand, which had been on the doorknob, fell to her side and clenched into a fist. She shook a bit, making Tamaki wonder if he'd angered her or said too much. However, when she spoke a minute later, she sounded calm as ever.

"You're here because this is a good learning experience for you, Suoh," she remained facing the door. "This'll probably happened in your house someday. You'll need to be prepared. Plus, your friends here will be helpful since other ghosts are solid to them."

She motioned towards Elissa and Naru. The former snorted and rolled her eyes.

"We wouldn't mind helping," she glanced at Naru before aiming an outstretched thumb over her shoulder. "But I doubt you'll be getting any assistance from the Cretin here."

Indeed, Hoki had spent the last several minutes completely absorbed in an anime he was watching. In fact, the only time he actually spoke was to loudly comment on the show.

"I don't like the angry midget, he's stupid," the ghost declared. "The wrench chick could do so much better."

The rest of the group stared at him for another moment, then turned their attention back to the important issue.

"Alright then," Tamaki spoke in his 'forceful leader' voice. "Let's begin our search. Miyako, since you know this place best, you will act as our guide. We don't entirely know what we're up against, so for the time being, we shouldn't split up."

"Sounds fine," Miyako deadpanned. "Though I have to wonder how you suddenly became the leader."

Tamaki either ignored this, or his current mindset filtered it out. He whirled around dramatically and pointed at the male ghost, who's eyes were still glued to the TV.

"Hoki! Can I count on you to man the fort while we're gone?"

"The wrench chick should be with the fire guy," Hoki definitely had a filter on. "Oh wait, he's with the gun lady… ah well, they can have a threesome."

An awkward silence follow, but Tamaki, being Tamaki, quickly recovered.

"I will take that as a yes!" He declared before turning his outstretched arm to the door. "Alright, ladies, let's go!"

Flashing each other side glances at Tamaki's behavior, Haruhi and Miyako followed him out, as did Elissa and Naru. The door closed behind them, softly so not to disturb anyone, but loud enough to somehow pull Hoki away from his trivial thoughts.

"Who's making all that noise?" the ghost demanded glancing in all different directions. "I'm trying to watch the fire guy roast the skinny worm freak!"

* * *

><p><strong>1:00 am<strong>

The group moved quietly down the hallway. Tamaki at the front, Miyako and Haruhi directly behind him, and Elissa and Naru bringing up the rear. So far, they'd found nothing and were currently searching the guest rooms.

Haruhi stood lookout while Tamaki and Miyako searched the room. Ten minutes passed in utter silence, and it was starting to get to everyone.

"Are you sure it's still around?" Tamaki whispered to Miyako as they looked under the bed for a second time.

"Of course," The girl answered firmly, a bit too much for Tamaki's liking. "It's definitely still here, it's just…"

**BANG**

Everyone jumped, including Haruhi.

Another sound immediately followed, one that sent the hairs on Tamaki and Miyako's necks on end.

"You heard that, right?" Tamaki nervously asked his partner.

She nodded, then glanced at Haruhi.

"I assume you didn't hear the laughter just now?"

"What laughter?" Haruhi responded with genuine confusion. "I just heard the crash."

No more needed to be said as they all understood the implications of that. Miyako, with a great deal of visible relief nodded and started for the door. The others followed and upon entering the hall, found an over turned vase on the ground two doors away. In the distance, more laughter could be heard.

"Looks like we found it," Tamaki said cheerfully.

Miyako glared at him, dampening his good mood considerably. "Not yet, we haven't."

She darted down the hallway towards the fading voice. Tamaki and Haruhi looked at each other, silently agreeing that something was up with the female medium.

* * *

><p><strong>1:30 am<strong>

The ghost had disappeared again. Miyako refused to speak to anyone and walked several steps ahead of her companions, never once moving her gaze anywhere except straight. Tamaki and Haruhi walked behind her in silent awkwardness, each wondering why their friend was so worked up about this ghost.

In the end, it was Tamaki who decided not to take the quiet anymore, even though a strong part of him didn't think speaking was a good idea right now.

"Are you sure you're alright, Miyako?" He asked softly.

Predictably, he got no response, but that certainly never stopped him before.

"If you want to talk about something, you can," Tamaki continued. "You can tell me anything. I won't judge you."

"Is that so?"

The couple jumped when Miyako spoke, neither of them truly expecting her to give any kind of response. She had stopped and turned around. Her features were hard as if from a refusal to show emotion, which only served to convince Tamaki further that something was bothering her.

"You wouldn't judge me, you barely even know me," Miyako stated.

Tamaki frowned and gave a nod. "I know, but over the past few weeks, I really have come to care about you, Miyako."

One thing that amazed… pretty much everyone who knew Tamaki Suoh, was his innate ability to change demeanor in a split second. For example, at this very moment, he went from quiet and subdued, to energetic and hyper as he leapt forward and tacked the startled Miyako into a hug. Haruhi just stood back, used to her boyfriends behavior. Miyako, however, stood rigid, completely unsure of how to handle the situation.

"You're like the little sister I never had!" He gushed.

"…Okay," Miyako responded, while trying her best to politely push Tamaki off her.

Luckily for her, he let go on his own. Unluckily (perhaps), his eyes were alight with a new determination. He grabbed her arm and Haruhi's as well, pulling them along with fervor and still going on about his self-proclaimed 'sister'.

"Don't worry," he cried. "I'll protect my beloved and my little sister from the ghost! He'll never be a bother again!"

"Suoh, you do know I'm three months older than you, right?"

Naturally, this was filtered out.

* * *

><p><strong>2:00 am<strong>

"Where is it?" Miyako almost shouted.

Tamaki glanced at her in response. He had come down from his self-induced high earlier on, though he still insisted on calling Miyako his little sister. She prayed that wouldn't become a permanent thing with him.

They were in the kitchen now, it was a good place to look for ghosts since there were a lot of places for them to hide. Unfortunately, this didn't seem to be the case. The spirit had already left a few more signs of his or her presence. Including turning some pictures upside down and rearranging the little figurines Kyung kept on display in the dining room

What struck all of them as odd was the fact that, baring the first time, the spirit hadn't made any noise other than laughing. It clearly knew there was at least one medium present, was it trying to get her attention? And did it know about Tamaki?

While all this was going on, the two ghosts who'd followed were becoming antsy, Naru in particular.

"This is boring," The child ghost whined. "I wanna go see the ducks."

"It's too late right now, Naru-chan," Tamaki explained while looking through a cabinet. "We can go tomorrow, okay?"

The girl gave an impatient, exaggerated sigh and crossed her arms over her chest. While not displaying it quite as childishly, Elissa clearly had similar feelings.

"I'm just not used to all this quiet," she sighed. "In the theatre troupe, there was always something going on. I miss those days…"

"You miss getting rotten tomatoes thrown at you?" Hoki asked cheekily as he came up behind her.

"Yes…" Elissa answered nostalgically, until it suddenly hit her. "CRETIN!"

Hoki burst out laughing, while Tamaki stared at him.

"I thought you were manning the fort," he whined.

"Manning the whatnow?"

"Hey, Tamaki?"

He turned to where he heard Haruhi's voice and found her standing beside Miyako, who was sitting at the kitchen table staring at the floor. Tamaki rushed over, a wave of concern hitting him.

"Miyako, are you alright?" He asked, kneeled down to get a better look at her face.

She looked alright, aside from the fact that her eyes were closed for whatever reason. She let out a breath and stood up straighter, rubbing her eyes as hard as she could.

"I'm fine," she then answered. "Just a little tired. I don't usually stay up this late."

"You need a wake up call?" Hoki zoomed over. "I can do that."

"Hoki, that's not necessary," Tamaki tried to dissuade the ghost.

"I know!" It failed miserably. "I heard some tourist girls singing a hilarious song the other day! Now how did it go…"

"It's alright, Hoki," Miyako said as she stood up. "I'm just fi-"

"Now I remember!" Hoki declared as a light bulb went off in his head. He took an unneeded deep breath and began singing. "Soldier A! Soldier A! The unsung hero of ANIMEEEEEE…"

As the singing continued, Elissa covered her ears and ran crying from the room while Naru began attempting to sing along. Tamaki and Miyako watched for only a moment longer and then walked out of the kitchen, a confused Haruhi and an oblivious, still singing Hoki in their wake.

Miyako clenched a fist, already feeling annoyance growing within her. She tried her hardest not to let it show, and kept her mouth shut even as Hoki's bad, off-key singing grew louder.

_'He can't keep it up forever,'_she told herself.

* * *

><p><strong>2:30 am<strong>

"He's called upon to grunt or yell or screeeeeam! Even if his mouth is never seeeeen!"

* * *

><p><strong>3:00 am<strong>

"Today I threw a fiiit! Today he threw a fiiiit!"

* * *

><p><strong>4:00 am<strong>

"The director says it's time for my dying to commence!"

* * *

><p><strong>5:30 am<strong>

"SOLDIER AAAAAA! SOLDIER AAAAAA!"

"How many times has it been now?" Elissa miserably asked.

"I lost count after 57," Tamaki answered.

"I suppose I should consider myself lucky I can't hear any of this," Haruhi commented to herself.

In front of them, Miyako stopped. She'd been walking at a steady pace through the lower levels of the house, and gave no indication that the singing was bothering her. Her sudden halt brought up feelings of surprise in Tamaki. Those feelings changed immediately when Miyako turned around.

Her aura had completely changed. While never particularly chipper, Miyako usually produced an air of calm contentment not unlike Kyoya. At least, when she wasn't angry at him.

Right now, it was as if the very air around her had turned pitch black. A shadow, one whose origin he couldn't figure out, obstructed her eyes from view, and it was probably for the best. Her mouth was set in a deep frown, and her hands remained at her sides, oddly enough, not fisted.

In short, Miyako looked absolutely terrifying. Tamaki could only cling to whatever was closet to him and thank the Lord her anger wasn't directed at him.

Her long black skirt obstructing her feet, Miyako seemed to glide towards Hoki, whose eyes were shut as his song continued.

"Hip Hooray for Soldier A, he only has one line but…"

Hoki's eyes opened just as Miyako stopped in front of him. One look at her face shut him up completely. It was the first time Tamaki'd ever seen him so quiet or looking so terrified.

Miyako leaned in close, causing Hoki to step back. Low as it was, Tamaki could perfectly make out Miyako's voice as she spoke in a deathly tone to Hoki.

"Stop. Singing. That. Song. Now."

Dead as he was, Hoki probably felt like she'd find a way to kill him again if he didn't obey. He nodded his head and practically ran away from the female medium. Meanwhile, Tamaki felt his intense fear die down as Miyako's aura slowly returned to normal. He began to wonder where Haruhi was, he couldn't see her anywhere. She hadn't been scared off, had she?

"Tamaki, can you please get off me?"

It was about this time he realized the 'thing' he'd been clinging to was, in fact, Haruhi herself. Stammering an apology, Tamaki jumped away and spent a few minutes sitting against the wall, mentally berating himself for his cowardly act while Haruhi tried and failed to reassure him that it was okay.

"THERE IT IS!"

Miyako's shout pulled everyone away from what they were doing. She tore off down the hall, towards a person Tamaki could just barely make out before they ran around the corner out of sight. Having gotten a head start, Miyako made it first, and stood rigid, causing a weight to drop into Tamaki's stomach. Unsurprisingly, the ghost was gone when they got there. A number of doors lined each side of the hall. It would take forever to search every room and the ghost would probably just run again if they found it.

Miyako allowed her body to slowly fall to the floor as she rested her head against the wall and closed her eyes.

"Hey, are you alright?" Once again, Haruhi was the first on the scene. "This is the second time now. You need to get some sleep, Senpai."

"Don't we all," the older girl moaned. "We've been up all night, and it's still running around. It'll be here tomorrow night too… I just need some sleep."

Her words became slurred and her breathing evened out. Haruhi looked at Tamaki, and noticed he was showing an equal amount of fatigue, though he hid it a bit better. Now that she thought about it, she was pretty tired herself.

Taking a cue from her Senpai, Haruhi sat against the wall and closed her eyes. Not a moment later, she felt a presence on her other side and allowed Tamaki to pull her into his arms. He sat her down in his lap and she gently laid her head on his chest, feeling the beating of his heart. It was a sound she'd come to love and hate at the same time, because it reminded her that Tamaki was alive, but that he came so very close to dying.

"Rough night, huh?" Tamaki remarked with a shrug. "Our first all-nighter hasn't been very productive."

Haruhi smiled slightly. "You would make a joke at a time like this."

Above her, Tamaki gave a smile of his own. Exhaustion was slowly taking over him as well. He tightened his grip on Haruhi's waist, wanting to keep her as close as possible. Her warm body felt wonderful against his, and he wished they could stay like that forever. All thoughts of finding the ghost left him as he closed his eyes and turned his head to the side. They fluttered open for just a moment longer.

Just long enough to see a grinning head poking out of the wall above the sleeping Miyako. Instantly, all thoughts of sleep vanished.

"NO!" Tamaki shouted.

It was too late. The ghost dived into Miyako from behind. The girl's eyes snapped open immediately and she threw herself to the ground, her body convulsing. Haruhi jumped out of Tamaki's grasp and ran to hold the older girl down. It was much harder than it looked as Miyako was struggling very hard against the unseen force.

"What's going on?" Haruhi cried to Tamaki. "It's like she's having a seizure!"

"The ghost is trying to possess her," he hurriedly explained. "She's fighting it off!"

Despite her vicious movements, not a single sound erupting from Miyako's body. In fact, close inspection showed she wasn't even breathing, her mouth open in a silent scream completed the horrifying sight.

"Don't look, Naru!" Tamaki heard Elissa shouted from behind him.

He waved Haruhi away and took over holding Miyako down, he was stronger and therefore more effective. Miyako's jerking movements continued, but they seemed to be slowing a bit. Was that a good or a bad thing, he wondered

"Come on, Miyako," he would take no chances. "You can do it. I'm here with you. Your big brother is here!"

He'd never know if she actually heard him, even though odds were she hadn't, but the moment those words were out of his mouth, the scream finally tore out of her throat, and a spirit was practically thrown from her body.

It sat in shock for a moment, then got up to start running. Hoki was quicker, and tackled him to the ground before he could even reach a wall. Meanwhile, Tamaki and Haruhi helped Miyako to her feet. She pushed them aside, wordlessly assuring them that she was fine and stalked over to where Hoki was holding the offending ghost.

The latter had been attempting to pry himself out of Hoki's grip with no progress. He froze when Miyako kneeled in front of him and took a good look at her.

"You're not much to look at from the other side," he said tauntingly. "I never had a thing for girls with skin problems."

Tamaki could see Miyako's aura darkening again, but this time she barely controlled it.

"You're lucky you're already dead," Hoki muttered to his captive. "She'd kill you again for that."

"Why have you been doing all this," the female medium demanded. "Do you want something?"

To her immense surprise, the ghost just shrugged in response.

"I don't know," he answered easily. "Haunting people is fun, and it's not often you get a medium to annoy out of the deal."

"You call trying to possess her 'fun'?" Tamaki demanded as he made his way over.

Miyako shooed him away. "I've got this, Suoh."

"You don't 'got' anything," the ghost shoot at her. "You can't make me leave. I'll just kind bugging you. You'll have to sleep with one eye open so I don't sneak up on you again."

Hoki, who up until now had been holding the ghost in a chokehold, suddenly let go and whirling the other ghost around to face him. The ghost gave a sound of protest, which turned to a squeak of fear when he saw Hoki's face.

"I don't think so," the male ghost said in a low tone.

The ghost stared at him, his mouth hanging open in fear.

"It's you!" he shouted, pointing his finger right in Hoki's face.

"Yes, it's me!" Hoki declared in a tough guy voice. "And you'd better know this: Miyako here, and Tamaki and… okay, everyone here right now? They're _my_ people, and you don't mess with _my_people."

He shoved his face into the ghost's until their noses were almost touching.

"Got that?"

Lost for words, the ghost nodded. Hoki let go and the spirit ran as fast as he could down the hall.

"Don't ever come here again, you hear me?" Hoki shouted after him.

The ghost responded with another scream and then disappeared from sight through the opposite wall.

Everyone (sans Haruhi) turned their amazed eyes from the retreating ghost to Hoki, who stood in a triumphant pose with a smug grin on his face.

"How did you do that?" the stunned Tamaki asked.

Hoki whipped around, standing in a pose like a superhero.

"Why, because I'm awesome!" he stated proudly.

This managed to bring down Elissa and Miyako's amazement, which was enough for him to realize they weren't buying it. Sighing, Hoki deflated a bit and waved a hand.

"I'll explain later. Long story."

Honestly, Tamaki was happy with that answer. He knew none of them were eager to hear a long story right now.

There was only one thing they wanted to do now.

* * *

><p>"I've never been more happy to see my bed," Miyako said as they walked into her room.<p>

The sun was already peeking out over the horizon, but the trio of sleepy teenagers paid it no mind. Miyako sprawled out on her bed while Haruhi took the couch and Tamaki just let himself drop to the floor. He was both too tired to find a better place to sleep, and saw this as an excellent opportunity to 'rough it' like commoners did. Sort of.

"This is the last time I go with you guys anywhere," Haruhi stated from the couch.

"I just hope Hoki's right and that ghost really is gone for good." Miyako commented. "I'll have to thank him later."

"It sure seemed spooked, for lack of a better word," Tamaki replied. "I wonder why it was so scared of him."

He managed to lift his head and bit and smiled in Miyako's direction.

"It's weird, huh Miyako?"

"Shut up, Suoh," was her sour response. "The last thing I want to do right now is talk. I'm exhausted and I just had to stop a ghost from possessing me for the second time in 24 hours. You won't be so cheery about it when you have to fight off something trying to take over your body."

"Whose 'cheery?'" Tamaki yawned. "I'm too tired."

His head fell back down on the floor. The carpet was much more comfortable than it looked (or was that the sleepiness talking). He didn't even care if he was found in the morning. That could be worried about when he was fully conscious. His eyes lingered for a brief moment on Haruhi. She looked so cute when she slept, but then she was always cute. His beloved Haruhi…

With such thoughts in his head, Tamaki closed his eyes and allowed the peaceful atmosphere to lull him to sleep.

**KNOCK KNOCK**

The three teenagers shot up. Their baggy eyes watched the doorknob turn and an elderly woman walk inside. Mrs. Noda cast an apologetic glance at all three of them, and didn't even comment on Tamaki's presence. Instead, she sighed and said the last seven words any of them wanted to hear at that moment.

"You have school. Time to get up."

* * *

><p>"Suoh?"<p>

"Yes, Miyako?"

"Kill me."

"Maybe later."

The two of them leaned against each other while Haruhi was sprawled over Tamaki's other side. None of them cared what this looked like to anyone else nor about what they were actually saying. Haruhi, for her part, hoped that her teacher wouldn't notice her sleeping through class while Tamaki was just trying to keep his jumbled thoughts semi-coherent. He still wasn't entirely sure how his train of thought had gone from ways to inconspicuously sleep in class to what Haruhi would look like in a Cat suit.

They didn't even noticed when the limousine carrying them stopped moving, and Kenji's slightly nervous voice called out to them.

"We're here."

Their response time was severally limited, so it was around twenty seconds before they finally managed to exit the car. Naru and Elissa followed, both showing obvious concern for their friends. The last member of their party exited as well, though he wasn't entirely welcome at the moment.

"Come on, guys," Hoki cheerfully prompted them. "Cheer up. We got rid of the ghost didn't we? That's something to celebrate."

"You expect them to celebrate when they can barely stand?" The scandalized Elissa demanded. "You're a particularly stupid Cretin, aren't you?"

Hoki glared at her, but his attention turned back to the living trio as he suddenly got an idea.

"I know what'll get your spirits up!" He proclaimed.

Even sleep deprived, Tamaki could recognize the look in Hoki's eye, and felt fear rising back up inside him along with a desperation to stop Hoki at any cost.

"Hoki, wait!"

It seemed today was not Tamaki Suoh's day, as Hoki began singing despite the blondes pleas.

"Solder AAAA" he sang. "Soldier AAAAA! THE UNSUNG HERO OF ANIMEEEeeeeee…"

He trailed off when Miyako sent another glare his way. It wasn't nearly as intimidating as the first time, and suffered from her eyes constantly drooping, but it did the job, bringing up memories of exactly what she was capable of and quieting Hoki for a second time.

A moaning sound erupted from the female medium's throat, and she started walking ahead of Tamaki and Haruhi.

"Where are you going?" the latter called after her.

"To either find a place to sleep," Miyako answered without stopping. "Or find the idiot who wrote that stupid song so I can strangle him."

As she disappeared in the crowd, Hoki, Elissa and Naru all looked at Tamaki. He responded with tired frustration and confusion.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This is probably the longest single chapter I've ever written: 22 pages and 7,600 words. Holy Crap. **

**May not seem like a big deal to some people, but it certainly is to me.**

**Anyway, since the chapters are going to be so long, I won't update as fast as I did with Spirit Minded. Sorry about that. I'll try to get at least one out per week. **

**I hope you enjoyed! Personally, I think it could've been better. :/**


	3. Tamaki's Secret! Part 1

**A/N: Oooooooh boy, this chapter. I'm not gonna lie, it's been a nightmare. I love this story to death, don't get me wrong, but writing this chapter was almost impossible for several reasons. Reason number one: My first draft was terrible, meaning I had to redo the whole thing, which I hate. Reason number two: It came out waaaaay longer than I'd anticipated, close to 10,000 words if you can believe that. For the latter reason, I've decided to split this chapter into two parts. This is the first one, the second will be posted tomorrow.**

**Okay, enough of my babbling, here's part 1 of chapter 3. Enjoy**

* * *

><p>Tamaki stood by the window, gazing out at the courtyard in relaxed contentment. Haruhi sat on one of the couches behind him, going over some homework in the few minutes she had before the other Hosts arrived and they had to start preparing for Club Activities.<p>

Two days had passed since their all-nighter with Miyako. Hoki still refused to tell Tamaki how he'd scared away the ghost, every time someone asked, be it him or Miyako or Elissa, he'd simply give a cocky grin and chuckle. Tamaki had to admit, it was getting a bit annoying.

Miyako hadn't come to the club since then either. Neither of them had encountered a single new ghost recently. This wasn't uncommon, according to the female medium, but the dry spell likely wouldn't last very long. People died every day, after all.

In truth, the few days of silence had given Tamaki a lot of time to think about everything that had happened to him. He knew he had something special now, something nobody else had aside from him and Miyako (as far as he knew). Not even Haruhi could ever fully share this with him, even though he tried to include her as much as he could. The last thing he'd ever do was keep something from his Haruhi.

That only left the matter of who else he could trust with the knowledge of his ability. He'd told Ranka both because he knew it might cause complications later if he didn't, and most of all, he desperately wanted to get into the tranny's good graces. Trusting him with the secret surely would show Ranka what deep respect Tamaki had for him (that's what he kept telling himself anyway). He told Shima and his driver, Toshiro, because outside of school, they were the ones he spent the most time around and therefore, more likely to notice something was up. The latter had been surprisingly open to believing the young man. The former had needed some convincing, but a 'demonstration' from Hoki wound up being enough.

Now, that just left the matter of his friends and his family.

He'd never tell his Grandmother, that he knew for sure. His father would probably believe him and keep his secret, but for certain reasons, Tamaki had decided not to tell him quite yet. His mother… well, that was an obvious conclusion.

The Host Club. His best friends and second family. How would he tell them? This was so different from a sad family situation. This was seeing _ghosts_, and he had a good feeling most of them didn't believe in such things. Kyoya? Definitely not. The twins? Maybe. Hunny-senpai and Mori-senpai? Possibly, but he just didn't know.

Tamaki sighed. His good mood was slowly darkening. The difficulties of the situation were coming into the light and he had no idea how to get around them. He supposed he could sit them down, explain slowly, maybe have Hoki do a trick to provide evidence… but would that be enough? It should, but a part of him couldn't stop doubting.

They might not believe him. They might not understand. They might think he's crazy. They might think he's some kind of freak...

They wouldn't think any of those things, that's what the rational part of his brain said. The voice of his fear was just so loud, it almost completely drowned out his logical side.

But in the end, he knew he had to tell them. He was the one who brought them together in the first place, and he'd never hidden anything from them before, why start now? All he had to do was figure out how to explain it to them.

The doors to the club room opened up, and in stepped the very people he'd been arguing with himself over.

"We're here!" Hunny-senpai announced as he jumped down from Mori-senpai's shoulders, clutching Usa-chan tightly as per usual.

"Yeah," Mori-senpai followed this with a slight nod in Haruhi and Tamaki's direction.

Kyoya, having already pulled out his notebook, looked over the rim of his glasses at the couple.

"It seems Tamaki and Haruhi beat us here," He commented quietly.

At this, Hikaru and Kaoru put on identical sly smiles (Hikaru's looked a bit forced).

"Oh," they sang in unison. "Having some private time with your girl, huh boss?"

"Everyone, I'm a medium."

The book feel from Haruhi's hands; Kyoya looked up; the twin's smiles fell completely; Hunny stopped in his tracks. Mori just looked at him.

Well, that was _one_ way to do it. 

* * *

><p>Kyoya noticed long before anyone else that something was up with Tamaki. However, having at first written it off as the cheerful blonde merely being happy to finally be with Haruhi, he didn't begin to really suspect anything until Miyako Kita started coming around.<p>

That on it's own wasn't a big deal, there had been several instances of young ladies who never came to the Club somehow bonding with a particular member and then becoming a regular. It was strange in this case for two reasons:

One: As far as Kyoya knew, Miyako Kita and Tamaki never once had an actual conversation.  
>And two: Miyako Kita very obviously disliked Tamaki. Her pointedly ignoring him in class and the glares she occasionally shot in his direction when he wasn't looking were proof enough of that.<p>

Her sudden interest in the Host Club, Tamaki in particular, was considered odd by everyone, especially since their King and Haruhi had just entered a romantic relationship. The fact that she arrived with a confident, almost business-like stride and never seemed to notice or care about the stares she got made it all the more strange. Just who was this girl? What was she to Tamaki? Why did she suddenly no longer hate him?

Hikaru, always one to blow things out of proportion, came to his own conclusions, and immediately started off ranting about how Tamaki was cheating on Haruhi after only days of dating, and why didn't he just break up with her and save her the heartbreak and how could he be so heartless as to prance around with his new girlfriend right in front of her and Kyoya stopped listening after that.

The older Hitachiin twin eventually cornered Haruhi after class to inform her of his suspicions. Kyoya got the whole story from Kaoru later on: Apparently, Haruhi not only didn't believe anything Hikaru was saying, but calmly stated that the Kita girl was nothing more than a mutual friend, and Tamaki's relationship with her was something they should ask him about, because it wasn't her story to tell.

This immediately set off alarms in Kyoya's mind. She was keeping secrets for Tamaki now? Since when did he even _have_ any? And since when did Tamaki have secrets Kyoya couldn't find with a bit of digging?

Indeed, after several hours of research into the Kita family, he'd concluded that they had had absolutely no dealings in the past with the Suoh family, or even any of their allies. They were like two separate universes, one never meeting the other. Until now anyway.

Whatever is was, Haruhi knew, that much was certain. It probably wasn't a romantic thing either, because Haruhi would never stand for that. She was never a weepy, doormat of a girl and he doubted she'd be the type to accept polyamory. So if there was no romantic relationship between Tamaki Suoh and Miyako Kita, why did she suddenly have such an interest in him, and why was Haruhi okay with it? And just what kind of secret were they keeping from everyone?

"Everyone, I'm a medium."

Whatever idea Kyoya could've concocted, that definitely wasn't one of them. 

* * *

><p>Dead silence permeated the room. Tamaki's face hadn't faltered a bit since his sudden declaration, even though inwardly, he was freaking out over how stupid he had to be to just blurt it out like that.<p>

He glanced briefly at Haruhi. She had the same look of stunned disbelief the others had, only for a different reason. For their parts, the rest of the Ouran Host Club clearly didn't know what to make of this. He noticed something else, they were all looking at Kyoya, as if expecting him to be the first one to speak.

Tamaki had to suppress a gulp when he looked at Kyoya's face. His friend was giving him a completely emotionless stare. His face betrayed nothing, not belief, disbelief, shock, awe, fear, nothing. Somehow, that made it scarier.

When Kyoya suddenly closed his notebook with a 'slap', Tamaki almost jumped. The sound was deafening in the silent spell they'd been under. Like he always did when in thought, Kyoya adjusted his glasses, never once taking his eyes off Tamaki.

"A medium, you say?" his voice was as even as his face. "Interesting concept. I'm not sure where you read it, but I can't say I know how we'd cosplay such a thing. If you mean to put on a show for the ladies, pretending to tell their fortunes and whatnot, that would be something, but the wardrobe is a bit-"

"I'm not talking about a cosplay," Tamaki's firm voice stopped Kyoya immediately. "I'm being serious. I am a medium. I can see and hear ghosts just as easily as I can any of you."

He gestured around at all of them, and still they gave no response. Tamaki felt his anxiety grow. Did this mean they didn't believe him?

"I don't know how or why it happened," he continued, feeling he would completely break down and run to the corner if he didn't. "But ever since I awoke from my coma, I've been seeing them everywhere."

He stopped talking again. Mostly out of nervousness since nobody was saying anything. There was no questions, no accusations regarding his mental stability, just blank stares. It made Tamaki feel worse than any of their words could.

"…can you please say something?" He asked after a full five minutes of the agonizing silence.

As if on cue, Kyoya closed his eyes and exhaled heavily.

"Tamaki…" he trailed off, his tone enough to let everyone know what he was thinking.

Tamaki felt his heart sink. He'd been right about Kyoya, it seemed.

"I know it sounds crazy," he began, perhaps too quickly. "You probably think I'm making this up or that I'm losing it or-"

"You got that right, Boss." the twins seemed to come out of nowhere, leaning over in perfect synchronization to loudly 'whisper' in his ear.

"I'M NOT!" Tamaki exploded, sending them flying back. "I'm telling you the truth!"

"Oh, come on, Boss," Hikaru said in a condescending tone. "There's no such thing as ghosts. Everyone knows that."

"If this is some kind of joke," Kaoru continued for his brother. "It's not a very good one. You should leave the comedy to the professionals."

"I said, IT'S NOT A JOKE!"

Further bickering was avoided when Haruhi slammed her book down and stood up. The petite girl stormed over to the trio and placed herself between her boyfriend and the twins, a fierce look in her eye.

"If you won't believe him," she said in a hard voice. "Maybe you'll listen to me."

There was a collective gasp as everyone's eyes turned to Haruhi. She remained unfazed and firm in standing with Tamaki. Her eyes shot to Kyoya, is if knowing instinctively that out of all of them, he needed the most convincing.

"I'll admit," she began after a beat. "I didn't believe it at first either. I understand if you think we're making this up, but it's the truth. I mean, do you really think Tamaki would make something like this up?"

Hikaru and Kaoru opened their mouths, but a quick glare from Haruhi instantly shut them up. Kyoya examined Haruhi, searching for any signs of falter or some indication that she was lying. He found nothing, which only perplexed him more.

"Let me get this straight," Kyoya calmly addressed Haruhi. "Tamaki's recent brush with death has left him with the power to see ghosts."

Haruhi nodded.

"But you yourself don't see them?"

She shook her head.

"How would I? I don't have the power."

"You can't see them," Kyoya repeated slowly. "And yet you're accepting Tamaki's word that they're there with no argument?"

"Enough!" That was Tamaki.

He charged forward, bearing down on his unfazed best friend. Tamaki pushed Haruhi behind him and tuned out the twins as they inched closer, perhaps excepting a physical confrontation.

"I get it already," Tamaki angrily said. "You don't believe me."

"This is very out there, Tamaki," Kyoya explained. "You can't except any of us to take your claims at face value, Haruhi or no Haruhi."

A quick glance around showed that everyone was in agreement with Kyoya, with the possible exception of Mori-senpai, though he didn't look like he was itching to defend Tamaki either. In fact, he suddenly seemed very defensive, like he was ready to attack someone at a moments notice. It was strange, but Tamaki didn't have time to dwell on that. He needed to convince the others, and he knew just how to do it.

With a sigh, Tamaki stepped away. Haruhi moved aside so he wouldn't run into her. Tamaki kept his eyes on Kyoya as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Alright then," he said in a curt voice. "If that's the case, I can prove it."

Hikaru and Kaoru shot aside glances at each other.

"What," they said in unison. "You gonna snap your fingers and make the ghosts appear?"

"No," Tamaki snapped at them, baring his teeth. "None of you will see them. The truth is, there have been ghosts around here ever since I got my powers."

In the background, Mori-senpai's fist clenched tighter.

"It's a long story, but I've made friends with a trio of ghosts, and they've been staying at my house and coming with me to school every day. They sit in while we're hosting too. In fact, they're here right now!"

Even though Tamaki said this is a light, cheery manner, everyone still jolted a bit and glanced around, as if expecting to see the ghosts standing right next to them. The only ones who didn't do this, predictably, where Kyoya and Mori-senpai. The latter merely cross his arms across his chest in a rather uncharacteristic manner. Kyoya remained collected as ever.

"There are ghosts here… right now."

Tamaki nodded, keeping composed even though inwardly he felt like crying at the look of disbelief Kyoya was giving him.

"They are," he confirmed. "In fact…"

He paused, more for dramatic tension that probably wasn't needed, then spread his arms out and spun around on a heel.

"I think they're about to make themselves known!" He declared.

If this were a movie, the score would begin to crescendo as the apparitions made their debut. It would then begin deflating as Tamaki's 'command' was met with absolutely no response. No one moved or spoke, though now, all eyes where on Tamaki, who hadn't come out of his dramatic pose but still darted his eyes in all different directions.

"I said," he began in a much louder voice. _"I think they're ready to make themselves known!"_

Again, nothing happened.

This brought Tamaki out of his frozen position, and he snapped his head around both ways, searching in vain for the ghosts.

"Hoki?" He called out. "Elissa? Naru-chan? Where are you?"

Tamaki began zipping around the room, searching every nook and cranny for the ghosts, all the while calling out to them while Haruhi face palmed and everyone else just looked unimpressed.

"Well, that was really something, Boss," Hikaru drawled out.

"Oh yeah," Kaoru agreed with his brother, casually leaning against him. "I'm amazed."

"WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?" Tamaki screamed, pulling at his hair. "THIS ISN'T FUNNY!"

The double doors creaked opened, revealing several of their regulars, ready for another day of hosting. Kyoya greeted them like always, smiling and showing them to their seats, and letting them know the Host of their choice would be with them shortly. Hikaru and Kaoru headed over to their usual table as did Hunny-senpai and Mori-senpai. Haruhi was dragged away by one of her more zealous fans before she could say anything, leaving only Kyoya to approach the now shell-shocked Tamaki.

"You have guests waiting, your Highness," Kyoya smirked and gestured with his head at the three girls waiting eagerly by his table. "Do try not to play your little joke on them. It wouldn't look good for them to question your sanity."

Tamaki could have responded a million times over, but he was feeling too dejected and miserable. He forced a smile onto his face and walked over to his three princesses, silently vowed that he would get Kyoya and the others to believe him while at the same time thinking off all the things he wanted to say to his dear friends whenever he saw them again. 

* * *

><p>"Haruhi-kun, are you alright?"<p>

"Hm?" Haruhi gazed up a bit. The girl next to her, one of her most frequent clients, was watching her with concerned eyes. Haruhi smiled apologetically. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop getting lost in thought.

Tamaki's sudden decision to reveal his secret caught her completely off-guard, to say the least. The fact that they not only didn't believe him, but his only method of proving he was sincere had apparently gone off when he wasn't looking made the whole situation seem like a bad episode of an equally bad situation comedy. All she could do now was go about her job like nothing was wrong and try to convince the others to at least hear her and Tamaki out when club hours were over.

"I'm sorry," she told the girl truthfully. "I've had a rough day, but it's no big deal. I didn't mean to worry you."

"Not at all," the girl answered with a cheerful look. "We all have bad days after all."

"Well, seeing the four of you always cheers me up," Haruhi responded, knowing from experience that this would make them happy and divert attention away from her behavior.

As expected, the girls swooned before her. The practice was as strange to Haruhi as it had been her first day with the Host Club, but these days she was getting used to it. The outright and sometimes very forceful flirting she occasionally got was another story entirely.

Haruhi glanced over at the two girls sitting across from her, and what she saw surprised her. The girl on the right, Mikage-san, was sighing dreamily like her friends, but the one on the left remained completely unaffected.

In fact, she wasn't even looking at Haruhi. Rather, she was staring out the large glass window far across the room, a soft frown on her face and eyes unfocused. Haruhi watched her, wondering what the girl could be thinking about and why she looked so down about it. Haruhi knew this girl well (at least as well as she could from their brief interactions during club hours) and she'd always seemed very bubbly and excitable, a far cry away from the quiet, downtrodden girl Haruhi was looking at.

"Matsumoto-san," Haruhi addressed her. "You've been very quiet today."

The girl didn't respond, and her friends tensed as silence fell over them. Haruhi eyeballed them, surprised to see identical solemn looks on each of their faces. Mikage reached over and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"C'mon, Fuchiko-chan," she said encouragingly. "It's okay to have a little fun."

These clearly weren't the right words to cheer Matsumoto up, as she immediately stood up, school bag in hand. Her pixie cut steel brown hair covered her eyes in shadow.

"I'm sorry, Haruhi-kun," she said in a low voice. "I have to go."

She turned on a heel and left without another word. The girl to Haruhi's right, Azuma-san, shook her head and glared at Mikage.

"Nice one, Kumiko," Azuma harshly stated. "Can you ever not put your foot in your mouth? Just once?"

"Don't give me that," Mikage shot back. "Like I don't feel bad enough right now."

"Well how about next time, think before you run your mouth off!"

"Excuse me," Haruhi spoke up. The two girls ceased glaring at each other and looked at her. It sometimes amazed Haruhi how easily she could break up potential fights between her customers just by talking to them. "I don't mean to be rude, but can you tell me what's upsetting Matsumoto-san?"

Azuma and Mikage, along with the last girl, Nakahara, frowned. Mikage began a staring contest with the floor and Nakahara sighed and twiddled her thumbs. In the end, only Azuma was willing to give Haruhi an answer.

"I'm sorry, Haruhi-kun," she said with the shake of her head. "Fuchiko-chan's just had it really rough lately. See, she has this cousin, Yuri. Her and Fuchiko-chan were really close and well… last week, Yuri committed suicide."

Haruhi gasped, her stomach instantly dropping. The girls around her bowed their heads in respect for the dead. All except Azuma, who was waiting for Haruhi's response.

"She… why?" The female host blurted out.

Azuma didn't mind the personal question.

"No one really knows," she answered with a shrug. "I never met Yuri myself, but the way Fuchiko talked about her, you'd think she had a perfect life."

"That's right," Nakahara suddenly spoke up. "She was at a top rate University studying business. Not to mention she was super popular and dating a really great guy. It's like nothing was ever wrong, but she still…"

The girl trailed off. Haruhi understood what she was saying anyway and couldn't believe such a thing had occurred. She felt a surge of pity for Matsumoto. Though she'd never had a friend of relative take their own life, she knew how it felt to lose someone important. Haruhi glanced at the closed double doors Matsumoto had waked through just moments ago. She could only wonder where Matsumoto was going and how she was feeling right now.

Haruhi sighed and turned back around, part of her wishing there was something she could do for Matsumoto. The conversation went back to normal, though there was still an underlying sadness among the grieving girl's friends as well as Haruhi.

What the female host didn't know was that she hadn't been the only one to notice Matsumoto's abrupt departure. Several seats away, Tamaki was having a hard time keeping his eyes on his current guest and not on the door. He couldn't help it, it wasn't like he saw guests storming out of the room every day. Especially not when the girl in question was followed by another girl in casual wear with an ugly burn mark running all the way around her neck. 

* * *

><p>When the last girl left for the day, Haruhi quietly cleaned off her table and stacked the newly washed tea cups away for tomorrow. Having finished, she walked back into the main room and was greeted with a hand on her arm. Haruhi turned around to find the anxious eyes of her boyfriend looking down at her. Wait, why was he looking at her like that?<p>

"That girl from before, Matsumoto," he whispered. "The one who left early."

Haruhi tilted her head to the side.

"What about her?" she asked.

"There was a ghost following her."

For some reason, that didn't shock Haruhi as much as it probably should have. Though in retrospect, this was probably because she already knew the girl had lost a loved one recently, and in such a way that it would make sense that the ghost would be around. Assuming it was really her cousin, of course.

"What did it look like?" Haruhi asked, wanting to be sure. "Was it a man or a woman?"

"A woman," Tamaki answered. "She was pretty young. Around Matsumoto's age, and she had rope burns on her neck."

At that, Haruhi felt a chill go down her spine. She realized that she'd never asked how Yuri killed herself, but now it looked like she had an answer. Forcing the mental images away, Haruhi nodded.

"Yeah, her friends were telling me about Matsumoto-san's cousin, she killed herself last week."

Tamaki's eyes widened, then he nodded in turn.

"I guess we know who she is now," he muttered.

"Have you told Miyako-senpai?" Haruhi asked.

"I didn't need to," Tamaki raised his cell phone up for her to see. "She saw Matsumoto sitting by the fountain and called me. We're going to follow her home and try to get the ghost's attention. Are you coming?"

Haruhi opened her mouth, fully intent on saying yes. She knew there wasn't much she could do by way of communicating with Yuri, but still she wanted to help Matsumoto. Before she could say anything, she caught a glimpse of red hair out the corner of her eye and was struck by an important memory.

"I can't," she suddenly stated.

Tamaki started, clearly not expecting that response.

"I'm sorry, I completely forgot," Haruhi groaned, annoyed with herself. "I have a group project due tomorrow."

She watched her boyfriend visibly deflate and cringed a bit. If this was how he reacted to the project, how would he feel when he found out who she was working with?

"So," Tamaki began slowly. "Are you going to your partner's house or something?"

She nodded. "We're almost done. We just need to finish it up, so I'm going their house tonight so we can do that."

Tamaki listened to her explanation, understanding perfectly and readily accepting it. He wanted for her to come, of course, but he wasn't going to be one of those crazy boyfriends who tried to control their girlfriend's lives and impose himself on everything she did. They had lives outside of each other after all.

"Okay," he said with a smile and giving her a peck on the lips. "Who are you working with anyway?"

Haruhi didn't answer right away… and that was all the response Tamaki needed. He saw identical shadows appear over her, like snakes hunting down their prey. Without warning, a pair of arms slung around Haruhi on either side. Haruhi glanced around with that adorable confusion of hers, but Tamaki could only focus on the evil faces grinning up at him as he gasped and pointed futilely at them.

"Hey, Haruhi," Kaoru said in a syrupy voice.

"Ready to get going, _partner?_" Hikaru added.

The twins sniggered when they got a good look at Tamaki's face, and they really couldn't be blamed. With his face bright red and his eyes bulging out, Tamaki really did look incredibly amusing. Too bad the twin's reaction to it only made him angrier.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY HARUHI!" He screamed at them, waving an accusing finger in their faces. "YOU'RE TRYING TO DEFILE EVEN NOW! HAVE YOU NO SHAME?"

As usual, Tamaki's outburst got little more then condescending looks.

"Geez, calm down, Boss," Kaoru stated, free hand on his hip. "We're just working on a project together. She may be dating you, but she does have friends, you know."

"I do know," Tamaki answered, breathing heavily. "She has friends who DON'T TRY TO MOLEST HER EVERY FIVE SECONDS!"

"Oh please, you're exaggerating," the twins answered together.

Tamaki took in a breath, ready to start yelling again, but Haruhi's hand shot up, signaling him to be quiet. He closed his mouth immediately while Haruhi worked herself out of the twins grasp.

"It's okay, Tamaki," she said with a tone not unlike a mother scolding a child. "You know they're just trying to get under your skin. Just go ahead with Miyako-senpai, I'll call you tonight, okay?"

Unnoticed by all, Hikaru's hand curled into a fist.

Meanwhile, Tamaki was having a rather difficult debate with himself. He didn't want to let her go with them, he really didn't. Tamaki's rational side knew the twins wouldn't do anything, they were her friends and they cared very much about her just like the rest of the Host Club. Unfortunately, like 80 percent of the time, Tamaki's mindset was currently being ruled by his irrational side, and it was telling him of all sorts of vile things those doppelgangers could do to her.

It didn't get very far, though, since the twins took the opportunity to bid a quick farewell to their club president and zoom out through the open doors, half-leading and half dragging Haruhi along and leaving Tamaki in the dust.

He stood there in dazed shock for longer than he knew. Hunny-senpai and Mori-senpai left in the duration of this, shooting concerned looks at Tamaki, but doing no more. Kyoya was the last one left now, and even though his bag was packed and his notebook stored away, he had no intention of leaving without Tamaki.

A quick look at his best friend revealed the idiot still hadn't move, and Kyoya sighed in annoyance. He still wasn't sure what to think about Tamaki's earlier claims. He knew it was a joke, of course, but he had to wonder what had come over Tamaki that would make him try something like that.

It was especially odd considering Tamaki's long held fear of anything even remotely related to the occult. Hell, Nekozawa-senpai's cat puppet was enough to send him ten feet in the air. A small part of him entertained the idea that maybe Tamaki was telling the truth, but he brushed that thought aside. Of course Tamaki was making it up, there was no such thing as ghosts.

Kyoya grabbed his bag and walked calmly to the stunned Tamaki. He reached out a hand to lightly shake him out of it, but a knocking at the door stopped him, not to mention did the job of snapping Tamaki out of it for him.

He was at first surprised to see Miyako Kita standing in the doorway, but that soon faded, and he realized he'd almost been expecting it. The girl didn't acknowledge Kyoya's stare, her eyes were on Tamaki. She tapped her fingers against the doorframe in a steady rhythm and gestured at him with her head, the message clear: _come over here._

Kyoya took his eyes off the girl when he notice movement to the side. Tamaki walked in front of him, stopping only to turn his head and offer his friend a smile.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Kyoya," he said.

Kyoya thought he heard Tamaki mutter something about 'proof' and 'Hoki' (whatever _that_ meant), but couldn't be sure. He said nothing and simply watched them leave, his mind working faster and harder than ever in a desperate attempt to figure out just what was really going on. 

* * *

><p>"I can't believe them, those stupid doppelgangers thinking they can monopolize my Haruhi. Who do they think they are? And they act so <em>superior<em> about it. Well, last I check, I was her boyfriend! They think they're so smart, they're not. They're just idiot clones trying to steal my Haruhi and make me look like a fool when I'm trying to tell them the truth about me, and that's another thing, WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE HOKI, ELISSA AND NARU? They're always with me, they came to school with me this morning like every day and now suddenly they disappear, and when I need them most even. Miyako, are you sure they weren't with you today… Miyako?"

The girl had been unresponsive to Tamaki's endless tirade, at least verbally. In terms of body language, she'd been alternating from watching out the tinted limousine window and shooting glares at him when he got particularly loud. Tamaki only just noticed this, and couldn't help the small amount of fear in his chest.

"Listen, Suoh," Miyako sounded like she was struggling not to yell. "I don't know where they are right now, what I do know is that we can't have a sufficient stake out if you don't shut up!"

Tamaki blinked at her. "But we're all the way across the street from Matsumoto's limo, I don't think she'll hear us."

"That's not the point!"

The two mediums sat on opposite sides of Miyako's limousine. Tamaki's personal transport was park right beside it in a somewhat more hidden spot so they'd looked less conspicuous. Kenji and Tamaki's driver, Toshiro, stood in the background, making small talk.

The original plan had been to follow Matsumoto home and confront the ghost of her cousin there, but it seemed Matsumoto had other ideas. The girl had randomly stopped in three different places so far. First was a small park, where she got out only for a second to place some flowers by the gate. Next was a pet store, and again, she stopped only to look in the window for a second, then leave. Now they were parked outside a record store. This time, Matsumoto actually went inside, and hadn't come out for ten minutes now.

The wait was becoming rather unbearable for Miyako at least, because her companion simply refused to shut his mouth for more than thirty seconds and wouldn't stop ranting about, in his words, 'those horrible lecherous clones.' Frankly, she was getting sick of it.

"I can't help it," Tamaki cried, making Miyako flinch at the loud tone. "I'm having a crisis here! Can't you show your big brother some sympathy."

"Maybe later when we _aren't_ doing something important," Miyako shoot back. "And are you still on that 'sibling' thing?"

"Geez, Miyako," Hoki drawled, leaning his head against the seat and crossing one leg over the other like he owned the place. "Can you be anymore cold? The kid's clearly having a bad day, why not try to cheer him up?"

"Thank you, Hoki," Tamaki flashed a grateful smile at the ghost… which then vanished instantly when he realized who he was talking to. "Hoki…"

It wasn't just him. Elissa and Naru sat in the limo beside him, the latter in the former's lap and beaming at Tamaki.

"We had a lot of fun today, Mr. Tamaki," the child ghost cheered. "We saw this man on the street by your school, he drew pretty pictures and they looked so cool!"

"I never thought watching someone paint could be so entertaining," Elissa gushed. "But whoever that young man was had such talent."

"Too bad you had boring school and stuff," Hoki slapped a friendly hand on Tamaki's back. "You'd have loved it… what's up with you?"

Tamaki was staring at the three ghosts what a mixture of shock, frustration, and rage, which all came together to look almost as comical as before when he'd yelled at Hikaru and Kaoru. It was still enough to get Hoki's hand off of him and for the ghost to edge back a bit in his seat.

"You spent all day," Tamaki repeated in a daze. "All day… watching a painter _and nothing else?_"

Hoki glanced at the other two ghosts, then back again. The somewhat nervous ghost gave a weak shrug.

"He was really cool. Why, did we miss anything?"

At this point, Tamaki was no longer capable of coherent speech. Instead he sputtered in anger as he convulsed in his seat, pulled at his hair and let metaphoric fire spew from his mouth. Lost for the cause of this behavior, the spirits turned to Miyako, silently questioning her.

"He's mad because he stupidly decided to blurt out to his friends that he sees ghosts and you three weren't there to provide evidence, so now they think he's crazy."

Hoki's eyes widened as he awkwardly looked back at the still seething Tamaki, smiling apologetically.

"Oh… sorry?" he tried to appease Tamaki.

It didn't work.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY ANYTHING BEFORE YOU LEFT?" he shouted, mostly at Hoki.

"I told you to keep quiet!" Miyako whirled around to chastise him. "If you yell one more time…"

"What are we doing here anyway?" Naru innocently asked.

Her question, not to mention her wide, adorable eyes, did the job of calming Tamaki down, at least partially. He definitely was making sure they went to school with him tomorrow. Until then, he smiled pleasantly at Naru, easily slipping into his cheerful mindset despite his remaining ire.

"We're looking for another ghost, Naru-chan," he explained. "She's inside that building across the street with a family member, and we're waiting for them to come out."

"Were they in that limo that drove away five minutes ago?" Hoki asked offhandedly.

Tamaki nodded. "Yeah, that's ri- wait, what?"

Tamaki, along with Miyako, who'd been listening in, flew back to the window facing the street. Sure enough, the limo they'd spent almost an hour tailing was nowhere in sight. The two gawked at the empty parking spot for several seconds before rounding on each other.

"WHY WEREN'T YOU WATCHING?" They shouted in each other's faces.

A tapping sound rang out behind them, diverting their attention to the other side of the limousine where Kenji was sticking his head into the car through an open window.

"Hey, guys," he greeted them. "What's with all the yelling? Aren't you trying to be inconspicuous or something?"

The driver glanced upwards when he got no answer, quickly noticing the subject of their frustration.

"She left already?" he stated more than asked. "That sucks. Oh well, tomorrow's another day. Who wants ice cream?"

The glares Kenji received from both Tamaki and Miyako immediately shut him up. 

* * *

><p>At the Hitachiin household, Haruhi was dealing with a less severe, but more persistent headache, courtesy of the oh-so-delightful Hitachiin twins. Well, to be fair, it was mostly Hikaru giving her the headache.<p>

Things had started out fairly well, they spent the short drive from the school to the Hitachiin household talking about the project and occasionally making jokes about the teacher's obsession with her sister's upcoming marriage, which she'd been spending around half of class time talking about this past week. When they arrived at the twin's home, they led Haruhi to their personal study adjacent to their bedroom (a playful suggestion to finish the project in the actual bedroom had been quickly shot down).

They worked for the next half hour, having Haruhi around did wonders for the twins focus, normally, they'd be slacking off by now. After a while, Haruhi began to feel a bit uncomfortable, not because of anything the twins were doing… actually, that was exactly what it was.

Hikaru was becoming increasingly irate as time went on. He'd tap his pen against the table, refuse to participate in discussion, and just all around created a tense atmosphere that was not only getting to Haruhi, but also to Kaoru, if his constant glances in the older twin's direction were any indication.

"I think that should just about do it," Haruhi said at around 7:15. She closed her notebook and put it back in her bag while some servants came to take her water glass away.

Kaoru nodded and began packing up as will. Hikaru was staring at the table, completely lost in thought and didn't hear a word of that. His pen hung limp in between his fingers; were his eyes not open, Haruhi and Kaoru might have thought he was asleep.

The latter examined his brother, unsure of what to do or say. It wasn't a common occurrence, usually the twins were completely in tune with each other. It bothered Kaoru and even Haruhi to see different.

She decided then and there that she would do something about it. Hikaru's attitude was just too much for both of them.

Haruhi coughed, a bid to get Hikaru's attention. When that failed, she simply leaned over the table, placing her outstretched hands directly in his line of sight. This finally got his attention and he glanced up at her.

"Hikaru," Haruhi began gently. She knew from experience how volatile Hikaru could be and wanted to keep the situation under control. "Is something wrong?"

Hikaru stared at her, his expression changing from bored to incredulous over the next few seconds.

"Doesn't it bother you?" He asked.

Haruhi blinked. The question came out of nowhere and she wasn't entirely sure what he meant. As if sensing this, Hikaru went on.

"What is with the Boss and that Kita girl?" He elaborate, his voice taking on an edge of anger. "And why are you so okay with it?"

Haruhi gaped at him while Kaoru looked ready to smack his hand onto his forehead. She gazed into her friend's eyes, feeling indignant anger rising in her stomach.

"Look," she began her answer. "We've had this conversation before. Miyako-senpai is a friend of both me and Tamaki, a _friend_. They can hang out together without me if they want. Why do you keep bringing this up? You can't honestly believe Tamaki would see someone behind my back."

Hikaru opened his mouth, then closed it again, completely at a loss. He looked at his brother, who just shook his head, making it clear that he would offer him no support. Frustrated, Hikaru rose from his seat.

"Well, you can't blame us for being a little suspicious," he argued. "I've never seen that girl around before, and then all of a sudden, right after you two start dating, she's his best friend. How did that happen?"

_'I wouldn't say they're best friends,'_ Haruhi thought to herself, her mind filling with memories of all the times these last few weeks Miyako-senpai has been a hair's breath away from strangling Tamaki.

"And then there's today," Hikaru continued. "He tells some ridiculous story about seeing dead people and you go along with it? Why? I don't understand!"

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe he was telling the truth?" Haruhi snapped, slamming her hands hard on the table and standing to look him in the eye. "As long as you're asking questions, Hikaru, I have a few of my own. Why won't you give him a chance to prove he's being honest? And why are you so convinced that he would cheat on me, do you really think so lowly of him?"

The only response Haruhi got was Hikaru's mouth wordlessly falling open. He took a small step back, as if amazed that Haruhi would get that defensive. He silently pondered her questions, and realized that no, he really didn't believe Tamaki would cheat on her. The Boos wasn't that kind of person, he was kind hearted to a fault and loved everyone, most of all Haruhi. The way he went on and on about her, there's no way he could act like such a love struck moron and then be cheating, that just wasn't Tamaki.

Even so, there's no way he would believe that medium stuff. Ghosts didn't exist, and therefore neither did mediums. Haruhi was clearly just playing along with Tamaki's game, humoring him perhaps.

"I…" he trailed off, at a loss for what to say. He felt a weight sink into his stomach, Haruhi was getting more and more annoyed the longer he took to answer, but he just didn't know how.

Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, Kaoru choose this moment to step in.

"We just want to make sure you're being treated right, Haruhi," the younger twin said. "I know you would never stay with the Boss if he was hurting you, but that doesn't mean we don't worry. You're our friend after all."

The words were enough to calm Haruhi down, much to Hikaru's relief. She gave a sigh and grabbed her book bag.

"I know that," she answered. "I appreciate the concern, but you don't have to be. Everything's fine, the only problem is that you all refuse to believe him when he's telling you a very important secret. He hasn't even told his father, just me and you guys."

Kaoru started a bit. He opened his mouth to say something, but Haruhi raised a hand to stop him.

"Forget about it," she said firmly, shooting a glance at Hikaru to let him know this applied to him as well. "I don't want to argue anymore, I need to get home and make dinner."

Kaoru nodded and showed Haruhi the way outside, where their driver was instructed to bring her straight home. Hikaru remained inside, frozen on the spot and contemplating everything that had just happened. He didn't know what to think anymore. He'd only known Tamaki Suoh for a few years, but he knew him well enough to know that his upperclassmen was a complete idiot (especially about his own feelings) and yet sincere in everything he said and did. If Tamaki said he was in love with Haruhi, then he was and he'd never go back on it.

Hikaru didn't know what was worse: the truth of that statement, or how much he found himself wishing it wasn't true. He was still turning it all over in his head as the slow crescendo of footsteps headed towards him and Kaoru reentered the room. The younger twin crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe, glaring at his brother.

"You mind telling me what that was all about?" Kaoru's annoyed voice sounded, loud enough to break Hikaru's train of thought and get his attention.

Hikaru pointedly looked away from his brother, not in the mood for a scolding.

"What do you mean?" He retorted.

"Knock it off, Hikaru," Kaoru stood up straight and walked inside. "You know I can tell when something's bothering you. You've been acting like this for weeks now. Bitter and surly, especially when the Boss and Haruhi are together."

"Yeah, what's your point?" Hikaru snapped, whirling around. "So I've been having a tough time lately. Who says it has anything to do with Haruhi."

Kaoru, though he really didn't like it when Hikaru yelled at him like that, kept his composure and merely stared back at his brother, his expression softening a bit as his suspicions were confirmed.

"With Haruhi…" he repeated softly, looking down at the floor. "I get it."

Hikaru blinked. "Get what?"

Kaoru's eyes lifted.

"You don't have to do that, you know," he told his brother. "You don't have to play tough, it's okay to be upset or angry, but you shouldn't let that destroy you're friendship with Haruhi."

As if understanding what Kaoru was getting at, Hikaru growled and wrapped his arms across his chest.

"Just be glad that she's happy," Kaoru continued. "Even if it's not with you…"

He trailed off, because the last part of that sentence wasn't something he should say aloud right now, not that it was all that important. He'd made peace with the fact that Haruhi was in love with the Boss and not him, so why couldn't Hikaru?

Hikaru didn't say anything for a long time, and Kaoru kept silent as well, waiting to see what reaction he would get. His answer came a moment later, when Hikaru shook his head and stormed out of the room, their bedroom door slammed shut a moment later.

Kaoru stayed behind, aimlessly watching the spot where his brother once stood as a sigh escaped his lips.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: That's it for part 1. See you tomorrow for part 2.**


	4. Tamaki's Secret! Part 2

**A/N: Here's part two!**

* * *

><p>Haruhi turned the pen in her hands around in an uneven circular motion. She wasn't writing anything, but rather just needed to keep her free hand occupied while the other one held the phone to her ear.<p>

"You guys aren't very good at stake-outs, are you?" she said into it. She could hear Tamaki's knee jerk reaction and felt like chuckling.

"It wasn't my fault," Tamaki whined, childishly. "I can't believe those guys. Leaving me alone to watch a painter. A PAINTER!"

Haruhi tapped her chin with her index finger.

"You know, I think I know who they were talking about." She said thoughtfully. "He's like a performance artist or something. I only saw him for a few seconds, but his technique was pretty interesting."

"Don't take their side!" Tamaki cried out. "It's thanks to them everything thinks I'm insane!"

Haruhi sighed and switched hands.

"Tamaki, don't be like that," she said in a calming voice. "They're just skeptical. I was the same way, remember?"

There was a brief silence on the other end, aside from Tamaki's breathing.

"Yeah, I guess so," he begrudgingly agreed. "It doesn't matter anyway, I've already talked to them, they won't be running off to watch any painters tomorrow."

Haruhi smiled and nodded. "Okay, so what are you going to do about Matsumoto-san?"

There was some shuffling on the other end and Tamaki let out an annoyed grunt.

"Keep it down, Hoki," his voice sounded more distant, as if he'd moved the phone away from him. "I'm talking to Haruhi… NO, NOT LIKE THAT!"

She heard a thud and pressed the phone closer to her ear.

"What's going on?" Haruhi demanded.

"…nothing," Tamaki answered after a beat. "Just something Hoki said, it's nothing, don't worry about it."

Haruhi made a 'hmm' sound under her breath, silently wondering what Hoki might've said to freak her boyfriend out like that.

"Anyway, we're just going to have to try again tomorrow at school," Tamaki easily went back to 'calm mood,' though his breathing was still heavy from the yelling. "I just hope she comes around for club hours again, I don't think we'll see her anywhere else."

Haruhi thought about that and had a sudden revelation. It was true that Tamaki and Miyako-senpai wouldn't see Matsumoto, she wasn't in their grade. That didn't mean they had to wait until club hours, because she was in Haruhi's.

"Actually, I can probably help you with that." 

* * *

><p>Kyoya absently turned the page of his book. He scanned the pages, trying to focus on the medical jargon and not on his frazzled thoughts. He was more confused now than ever about his best friend, and anyone who knew Kyoya Ootori knew one thing for sure:<p>

Confusion was _not_ an emotion he would tolerate.

What had happened today made no sense. Seeing ghosts? Where in the world had Tamaki gotten that from, a manga? Kyoya sighed and leaned his head back, swearing that one way or another, he would get to the bottom of this. 

* * *

><p>Tamaki leaned against the side of the wall, peering discreetly (in his view, anyway) into the small window atop the closed door. Inside was Haruhi, sitting several seats away from their target and the ghost perpetually haunting her. He didn't know whether or not to call it luck that his girlfriend took an elective course with Matsumoto, but choose not to question it.<p>

Keeping steady, he turned around to face his companion.

"Shouldn't be much longer now," he glanced out the enormous window at the clock, which showed the minute hand just barely reaching the large number 6. "Good thing we had a free period, huh?"

Miyako didn't answer, just brought a finger to her lips and shook her head slightly. Getting the message, Tamaki went back to his earlier position, watching with bated breath as the seconds before the bell finally rang ticked by.

What seemed like hours later, it finally did, cuing an ocean of students to flood the hallways, heading to whatever class they had next, or to the cafeteria. In the massive crowd, Tamaki almost lost sight of Haruhi and Matsumoto. He wondered if his girlfriend would be able to catch up to the girl, it wouldn't be easy in this crowd.

As it thinned, however, Tamaki and Miyako were pleasantly surprised to find Haruhi and Matsumoto off to the side, talking in silent tones. After breathing a sigh of relief, Tamaki moved to address the ghosts.

"Alright guys," he stated in an authorative manner. "Go and get Yuri, but be gentle. She may not take kindly to strangers."

Hoki and Elissa nodded. Naru, in Elissa's arms, was too busy staring at a butterfly that had landed on the window. The male ghost gave his human friends a grin and a thumbs up.

"Don't worry, you can count on us!"

The ghost ran off before Elissa could follow. The group watched as Hoki slowly tiptoed to Matsumoto's cousin, who was just standing there, listening in on her cousin's talk with Haruhi. Hoki turned his head to grin again at his friends, then slowly raised a finger, as if to tap Yuri on the shoulder.

Right before he made contact, Hoki's hand opened and he violently grabbed Yuri by the shirt collar. The female ghost gasped in surprise, but could do nothing as Hoki literally dragged her over to the stunned mediums.

"Hey! Let me go!" Yuri was crying.

Hoki ignored her until he reached the group, in which case he pulled her back up and placed her between himself and the others.

"Got her!" He proudly declared.

Tamaki could only gawk at Hoki for a moment before his mind cleared up, allowing him to verbally express exactly what he was thinking at this moment.

"HOKI, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? THAT'S NOT HOW YOU TREAT A LADY!"

"Shut UP!" Miyako grabbed him around the waist and slapped a hand over his mouth, an infuriating look on her face.

Around the corner, the quiet buzz of talking ceased, causing the hairs to stand up on Tamaki's neck. Had they been caught?

"Haruhi-kun," he could just make out Matsumoto saying. "Did you hear something?"

"Oh, no," Haruhi's voice had an edge of nervousness. "It's probably just some kids messing around. Don't worry about it."

A short silence followed, during which Tamaki almost expected Matsumoto to leap out at them, but this never came to pass. Instead, Matsumoto sighed.

"I guess," her voice became softer. "Well, I'd better head to class. Thanks for your kind words, Haruhi-kun. I hope we can talk again soon."

Tamaki gently wrenched himself from Miyako's, albeit not very firm, grip and stuck his head out around the corner. He saw Matsumoto's back as she walked away. Haruhi hadn't moved, and was looking back at him with questioning eyes. Tamaki smiled and nodded, letting her know that they'd succeeded in their plan. Briefly returning the smile, Haruhi turned around and began walking to her own next class, trusting that her boyfriend and Miyako could handle the rest.

When he turned his focus back on the ghost, he found that she was struggling to run away, and only Hoki's efforts to hold her back kept her from escaping. Miyako stood beside her, trying and failing to calm the spirit down. She gestured for Tamaki to come over.

"A little help here?"

"I'm with her," Hoki grunted, pulling Yuri back for the fourth time. "This chick is a lot stronger than she looks."

Tamaki wasted no time in dashing over to the ghost, placing himself in front of her.

"Yuri, please calm down," he all but begged her. "We're just trying to help you."

"You think _this_ is helping me?" The ghost retorted while shoving Hoki's hand away from her face. "Just let me go, I need to stay with Fuchiko-chan!"

Tamaki nodded. "I understand that, but can you at least explain to me why?"

This, at least, got her to stop struggling. She still very clearly wanted to leave, but Tamaki's question had gotten her thinking. Tamaki signaled for Hoki to let go, and Elissa pulled him off herself when the ghost didn't do so fast enough. Hoki remained to the side in a crouched down position, as if ready to pounce if Yuri ran again.

Yuri's eyes went from Tamaki to the carpeting. Her shoulder sagged, and she looked very much like one defeated by life. It would make sense, considering her suicide. As he thought this, Tamaki eyed the ugly burn marks on her neck and felt a stab of sadness and pity for the dead girl.

"It's complicated," her voice brought them all to rapt attention. Yuri sank to her knees, falling into a sitting position. "It's so stupid…"

Tamaki sat down as well, prompting everyone else, including a rather unwilling Miyako, to do the same.

"Tell us," Tamaki placed his hand a mere centimeter over Yuri's, the most he could do to reassure her that he would listen.

Yuri looked at him, her eyes would probably be filled with tears right now were she still alive.

"I had a great life," her wistful tone betrayed that she was talking more to herself than to Tamaki. "Really great. My parents were great, my friends were great, my boyfriend was great, my school was great, my… everything was great."

Her eyes fell once again to the floor, and Tamaki took the opportunity to glance at Miyako. The female medium shook her head, and pointed at the downtrodden ghost.

"Then why would you do that to yourself?" Elissa questioned Yuri.

The ghost didn't look back up, but shook her head all the same.

"It's stupid," she repeated. "I loved my life, I really did. It's just… I see so many people getting hurt, killed, raped, losing everything… they all probably had great lives too, but then in one foul swoop, it's all gone."

Yuri brought her hands to her head.

"I felt like I was living on borrowed time, like any second, something horrible would happen and everything and everyone I ever cared about would be gone. I became so afraid that I stopped leaving the house. I couldn't even get out of bed or do anything but sleep and worry. Eventually my mom started trying to get me out of the house. She succeeded… or at least she thought she did."

Her shoulders shook a bit.

"Later that day, I got some of my dad's heavy rope," her voice dropped to just above a whisper. "I just couldn't take the fear anymore and I wasn't thinking clearly, and well… here I am."

As her story came to an end, everyone quietly took in all she had said. Tamaki was momentarily at a loss for what to say, which unfortunately let Hoki get the first word out .

"_That's_ why you offed yourself?" He asked in a disbelieving voice.

Elissa responded by smacking him on the head, and no one tried to stop her.

"He's right," Yuri whispered. "I was such an idiot…"

She buried her face in her hands, rocking back and forth and wallowing in her sadness. Tamaki leaned forward, wishing he could take her by the shoulders like he might've a living person.

"Yuri," he kept his voice as gentle as possible. "You cared about Mat- Fuchiko a lot, and that's why you want to stay with her, right?"

Yuri nodded, but didn't change position.

"She was my best friend," her voice was muffled through her hands. "I feel so terrible, she must hate me."

"No," Tamaki answered abruptly. "She doesn't, but she does feel terrible about it. She wonders if there was something she could've done to prevent your suicide. She's in shock that you'd do such a thing in the first place."

This time, Yuri looked up, though her hands remained on her face.

"That makes sense," she murmured. "…you're like- you're a medium or something, right?"

Tamaki gave a charming smile and nodded. Yuri briefly looked away, biting her lip.

"Can you do me a favor?" She asked. "I know I can't talk to Fuchiko-chan, but I- I wrote her a letter before…"

She stopped, her hands beginning to shake. Only a friendly look from Tamaki got her going again.

"Anyway," her voice was wavering. "I never sent it, but it's at my house. My parents aren't rich, so we don't live close, but it's not far either. Can you please… well, can you make sure she gets it?"

Tamaki looked at Miyako, silently asking if she was alright with it. The female nodded in response, and Tamaki turned to give Yuri an affirmative answer.

"Alright, it's settled," the Host King proclaimed. "We'll go just as soon as club hours are over!"

Everyone murmured in agreement, though Miyako coupled it with an eye roll at the blonde's ridiculous behavior.

What none of the group, alive or dead, knew, was that they weren't quite as alone in the deserted hallways as they thought. Behind a pillar, another young man listened in to as much of the conversation as he could, which wasn't a lot. From his perspective, Tamaki and Ms. Kita had spent the last few minutes talking to the air and occasionally each other. It was a good thing he was the only one around, anyone else and they'd think the two were losing it, or else playing some kind of weird game.

The young man heard them get back up and walk away in the opposite direction from where he stood. His glasses reflected the shine of the sun outside, but he paid it no mind as he took to walking away and pulled out his cell phone. 

* * *

><p>"What the hell is this?"<p>

Tamaki and Haruhi stood outside the door to the third music room, openly gawking at a sign taped to the door, one they definitely hadn't expected to see:

_The Ouran Host Club will be closed for the day due to unforeseen circumstances. We apologize for the inconvenience._

"Unforeseen circumstances…" Tamaki repeated in a low voice before ripping the paper off the wall. "WHAT DOES THAT MEAN, UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES?"

The crowd of girls that had gathered took a collective step back with unease at seeing their Princely Host Club president acting so manic. Haruhi was unaffected by her boyfriend's outburst, she just stood off to the side, waiting patiently for him to calm down while mentally rolling her eyes and reminding herself that she was dating this guy.

"Haruhi-kun?"

The voice made Haruhi blink and turn around. Matsumoto stood before her, hand clasped over her front shyly.

"Oh, Matsumoto-san," Haruhi greeted her.

"Is everything alright?" The worried girl asked. "You didn't tell me the Host Club would be closed today."

_'I didn't know,'_ Haruhi's mind answered.

Sweatdropping, Haruhi plastered a smile onto her face and raised her hands in reassurance.

"No, it's okay," she answered, her voice going a bit high. "Just a small issue, we'll be open again tomorrow for sure."

A tiny noise emitted from Matsumoto's throat before she offered a small smile.

"I see, that's good to know."

Haruhi nodded, but when she went to turn away, Matsumoto's hand shot up, lightly gripping her arm.

"Haruhi-kun…" she sounded more nervous than ever. "I-I was wondering, if you're not busy… could you come with me?"

The last part she said very quickly, and from her change in expression, instantly regretted it. Before Haruhi could answer, Matsumoto was babbling.

"I mean, only if you want to. I understand if you can't, I just wanted some company and I'd drive you home of course, I know you don't have the same means of transport as I do I just-"

"Whoa, whoa," Haruhi loudly interrupted.

Matsumoto's mouth closed immediately.

Haruhi glanced at Tamaki, who had calmed down and was staring at something over her head, likely Matsumoto's cousin.

"Sure, that sounds fine, Matsumoto-san," Haruhi told her with a wide smile.

The girl's face showed relief. She offer a shaky thank you before turning around, fully expecting Haruhi to follow. Haruhi gave him a nod before doing just that. Yuri remained behind, even though she very clearly wanted to go with her cousin. A look from Tamaki ended that idea.

"Well, I guess it's time to go home," he said aloud.

His eyes locked on Yuri's letting her know he was talking to him. Tamaki walked away from the third music room, leaving behind a steadily diminishing crowd but retaining a healthy level of confusion.

Who on earth had canceled the club for the day, and why had no one told him about it?

Tamaki was still pondering this on the limo ride to Yuri's house. Miyako was conversing with Hoki beside him, but their voices drifted in and out.

"What a dumbass," Hoki was saying. "Killing yourself because of some nerves? I hate to see what you'd have done if you actually got sick."

"Hoki…" Miyako tone carried a great deal of warning. "Yuri was sick. Didn't you hear what she said?"

The ghost raised an eyebrow and shrugged uncaringly, earning yet another glare from both Miyako and Elissa.

"She was constantly sad and worried, slept all the time, and never wanted to do anything," Miyako ticked the signs off with her fingers. "Those are clear signs of clinical depression. Throw in the severe paranoia, and it makes people do stupid things for stupid reasons."

Yuri visibly winced at this, but said nothing in either agreement or denial.

"Huh…" Hoki muttered. "You sure do know a lot."

Miyako shook her head. "Not really, Rika just gave me a psychology book for my birthday one year."

They arrived at the house after several more minutes. Yuri hadn't been kidding when she said she wasn't rich, her house was a standard middle class building situated alongside an entire block of standard middle class houses. It seemed the wealth of Matsumoto's immediate family only extended so far.

Kenji stopped the car, allowing Tamaki and Miyako to step out. The ghosts, never ones to bother with doors, simply phased through the limo and made it to the front door before either of the mediums. None of them noticed another, more inconspicuous car pulling up just down the street.

"It's actually a good thing we could come early," Yuri commented. "My parents aren't here right now, they both have work."

"So the house is definitely empty," Miyako prompted her.

Yuri gave a nod in confirmation. The female medium reached out for the door knob, but it was locked, predictably. Hoki, who'd been watching, gave a smirk and stepped forward, holding a hand out to Miyako.

"Hair pin," he all but commanded.

Miyako obeyed and pulled the small object from her purse. Hoki snatched it up and fitted it into the door while Tamaki and Miyako covered him. The door came free not five seconds later, granting the group entrance. The inside was just as standard as the outside, though it at least had the advantage of being decorated differently. Probably.

"My room is upstairs," Yuri pointed at the staircase. "I hope mom and dad haven't moved anything yet."

They all climbed up together and followed Yuri down the hall to a closed door. Tamaki grabbed the handle as soon as he was close enough. Thankfully, it was unlocked. He pushed it open, revealing a room fit only for a teenage girl. The walls were purple in color, posters of various Idols adorning them. A dresser stood off to one side and the bed on the other. Piles of disorganized books were piled in one corner, and another, more noticeably well cared for book sat on the stand next to her bed.

Yuri studied the room, a sad smile peeking out on her lips.

"They haven't touched a thing," she whispered. "They even left the clutter."

Like a zombie, Yuri entered the room and shambled over to the window. A broken light fixture protruded from the wall just over it. She reached up, but wasn't tall enough to reach it.

"This is were…" she trailed off, but the way she rubbed her rope burns with her free hands explained everything.

Just like before, Tamaki was ready to offer some kind words to cheer her up, but Miyako didn't give him the chance.

"You'll have plenty of time to atone for what you've done when you cross over," her voice was strictly professional, cold even. "For now, let's find that letter."

Tamaki stared at her, mouth partially open. He knew Miyako was tougher with ghosts than he was, and she never held back sad truths, but he'd never heard her speak so bluntly to anyone.

Yuri was surprised by it too. Her eyes showed a twinge of fear, but then she seemed to accept what the female medium was saying and nodded in agreement.

"Alright, I know exactly-"

Yuri stopped, her gaze having been caught by the pile of books. She moved closer to it, scanning each title and cover image. Her brow furrowed.

"Where's my T.S. Eliot? It's always right…" she then noticed the group watching her expectantly.

Yuri jerked back up, laughing apologetically.

Getting back to the task at hand, she walked to the bed and pointed at the book on the nightstand. Catching the hint, Tamaki reached over and picked it up. He opened it to a random page and found handwritten text, this must have been her journal. Ever the gentleman, Tamaki refused to focus too hard on what was written, it was impolite to read a lady's personal secrets after all. He then noticed something white sticking out the front cover. Tilting his head to one side, Tamaki let go of all but the cover. The pages fell back into piece, and something plain and white fell out and landed on the carpet.

"Guess we found it," Miyako commented, looking over Tamaki's shoulder as he kneeled down to pick the envelope up.

"Found what, exactly?"

Everyone jumped in unison, as if they'd choreographed it. Breathing shakily, Tamaki and Miyako whirled around to face the intruder. Their fears that a burglar or something had entered through the open door were alleviated when they realized who it was. All this really meant was that their fears changed, or at least Tamaki's did as he stared into glasses covered eyes.

"K-Kyoya." 

* * *

><p>Haruhi rested her hands on the wood of the bench. The park was apparently a place Matsumoto and Yuri used to frequent, and she'd been going every day since the suicide to place flowers at the entryway. Having completed that task, the two sat down in a less wooded area, and the grieving girl told stories about her cousin and all the things they used to do together.<p>

Matsumoto wasn't the best storyteller, but Haruhi did nothing to stop the girl from talking, she was really looking so much brighter. She even laughed a few times, more like she was before this tragedy, if Haruhi remembered correctly.

"This was her favorite book," Matsumoto handed it to Haruhi for her to examine. "T.S. Elliot, she loved his poetry. I took this from her room a few days ago, I've never read it but… it's something to remember her by."

Haruhi nodded in understanding as she handed the book back. Matsumoto ran a hand down the cover, sad smile in place.

"I haven't even opened it yet," she murmured.

Taking a breath, Matsumoto straightened back up.

"Thanks for sitting with me, Haruhi-kun," she said gratefully. "You're really easy to talk to, you know?"

Haruhi gave a small chuckle, she'd never really thought that about herself at all.

"It's nothing, I'm glad you're feeling better."

"No, I mean it," Matsumoto persisted. "You're a great listener, Haruhi-kun. My friends are supportive and all, but all they do is talk about how they're sorry they are and shy away or change the subject if I try to talk about Yuri. I know they just want me to take my mind off things and not be so sad, but… I guess I really needed to talk about this with someone."

Matsumoto's smile widened, her face shining with happiness.

"I know we don't know each other all that well, but thank you for listening to me anyway."

Haruhi was at a loss for what to say. No one had ever complimented her in such a way before.

She could only nod her head in thanks while Matsumoto picked up her bag and carefully slid the book back inside like it was a precious jewel. All things considered, it probably was in her eyes. Even though she did seemed calmer, Matsumoto couldn't hide that her sadness hadn't really diminished. Haruhi leaned back in her seat, wondering how Tamaki and Miyako were doing. She hoped they could do more to help both Matsumoto and Yuri find some degree of peace. 

* * *

><p>"K-Kyoya," Tamaki addressed his best friend.<p>

The bespectacled young man callously studied the two of them, his arms crossed and his notebook wedged between one arm and his side. It was like a parent who had just caught his naughty children with their hands in the cookie jar. Tamaki could barely look Kyoya in the eye, he looked so angry. Miyako was not quite as affected, but that was only because she didn't know Kyoya the way Tamaki did. If only she did…

"So," Tamaki jumped again when Kyoya spoke. "Breaking and entering, that's new."

"Kyoya," he finally forced out. "H-h-how- How did you-"

"How?" Kyoya repeated, eyebrows raised. "Isn't it obvious? I followed you. I overhead you in the hall earlier. It was rather strange, even though Ms. Kita here was with you, you seemed to be much more engaged in your conversation with the air. It was most troubling, so I canceled the Host Club for the day to see where you'd be going. I wouldn't have, except I have somewhere to be after club hours and can't reschedule, not to mention your behavior lately brings your mental health into question leading me to wonder if you're even capable of Hosting properly. Now may I please have an explanation for all this?"

Tamaki was a hair away from flying into the corner, or out the window, anything to escape Kyoya's penetrating gaze. Sensing it coming, Miyako grabbed him by the wrist, so when he started running, he was pulled off his feet and fell ungracefully onto his rear end. A pained noise escaped his lips, but only Elissa and Naru paid him any mind.

Miyako's eyes were boring into Kyoya's, just as his were hers. Hoki and Yuri stood off to the side, the latter unsure, the former watching intently like it was a movie.

"Ms. Kita," Kyoya said in a businesslike fashion. "I'm honestly not all that shocked to see you here."

Not once did Miyako's expression falter. "Is that so?"

"Quite," Kyoya responded. "I must admit, you're sudden interest in Tamaki has left me stumped. I was under the impression that you didn't care for him. You're behavior towards him both in class and out said as much."

"Hmm…" Miyako pondered this. "Well, perhaps you don't know as much as you think, Ootori. Anyway, it's none of your business what Suoh and I do together."

"See, that's my problem," Kyoya answered, fixing his glasses. "I and my associates find it odd that you've suddenly developed a friendship with him right after he recovered from his accident, when he shouldn't have had any time to make new friends."

Again, Miyako took a moment to think, "His accident… are you sure your concerns have nothing to do with his girlfriend, Fujioka?"

For a moment, Kyoya's cool persona fell as did his jaw. She- she knew about Haruhi?

"Surprised?" Miyako flashed a knowing smile. "Yes, I know Haruhi Fujioka is a girl and I know her reasons for pretending otherwise. Suoh told me himself."

Kyoya visibly twitched. The air around him darkened along with his mood, and sent the already terrified Tamaki running again. Unfortunately, Miyako still hadn't let go of his wrist, and so he could only cower behind her after a futile attempt at escape.

"Is that so?" Kyoya's voice became deathly calm. "Well, it seems your budding friendship goes deeper than I thought, isn't that right Tamaki?"

Tamaki let out a squeak of fear but forced himself to stand up and in front of Miyako. His legs shook horribly but he kept on his feet and faced his best friend bravely.

"Kyoya," he began again. "I know this looks bad, but I've already explained it to you. I'm a me-"

"Oh, not this again," Kyoya interrupted, exasperatedly running his hand through his hair. "Tamaki, enough with this psychic game, it's not funny anymore."

"Dammit, Kyoya!" Tamaki snapped. "I've had enough of this. Why can't you just believe me? You really think I would make something like this up?"

Kyoya bit his lip. The question jarred him from his intended goal, as it was something he'd been thinking about non-stop since yesterday. When Tamaki suddenly started the whole 'medium' thing, he hadn't believed it in the slightest. He'd known Tamaki for years, and he knew his friend had an amazingly over active imagination coupled with a tendency to jump to conclusions and overreact to pretty much everything. Was he the type, then, to make up such stories?

In spite of everything, Kyoya believed he wasn't.

Idiotic he could be, Tamaki was not truly stupid. He had just enough common sense to understand the difference between reality and fantasy, not to mention his intense fear of anything occult related. Him suddenly stating something that placed him firmly in occult territory wasn't something he'd do unless he really meant it.

By that logic, then, Tamaki had to be telling the truth, and Kyoya almost found himself believing he was.

"…no," he admitted, so soft that nobody could hear him. Catching himself, Kyoya's eyes strayed from Tamaki's for a brief second. "You've broken into somebody's house, you realize that, right?"

"I have not," Tamaki argued, eyeballing Yuri for a moment. "We have permission to be here."

Kyoya just rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Alright, I don't want to hear this anymore," he said dismissively. "Let's go now before someone sees us, and this discussion isn't over. I want an actual answer Tamaki, no more fairy tales."

In the corner Hoki stared at Kyoya, his expression making an obvious statement: 'Are you kidding me?' With a sardonic laugh, the ghost turned to Tamaki.

"Do you hear this guy?" He asked, pointing at Kyoya. "I don't think I've ever met anyone with that big of a stick in their ass. How does he even walk?"

Tamaki jolted, offended for his friend, while Miyako merely smiled to herself and chuckled under her breath. Their actions weren't lost on Kyoya, who once again began to study them intently.

"I mean, look at him," Hoki wasn't finished as he approached Kyoya from behind. "He still has this stupid notebook of his, even."

And before Tamaki could say or do anything and just as Kyoya was about to turn back around, Hoki seized the notebook and yanked it away from it's owner. He held it open in front of him and puffed out his chest, grinning widely.

"Look at me, I'm Kyoya!" He declared, shouting and changing his voice to a comical mockery of Kyoya's. "I wear glasses and write in a notebook because I'm smart and smart people write in notebooks all the time, because they think it makes them look cool and not pretentious! Oh, you breathed in the wrong direction, that'll be 5 billion yen, please!"

The spectacle continued, much to the amusement and/or horror of everyone watching, until a certain female ghost decided she'd had enough.

"CRETIN!" Elissa shouted, charging forward and grabbing the book. "You are so rude, give that back!"

"No way," Hoki retorted as he snatched the notebook back. "I'm having fun here. By the way, kid, if I write someone's name in this, will they have a heart attack?"

Tamaki didn't answer. Both he and Miyako were too busy watching Kyoya. He obviously didn't see Hoki waving the notebook around while he argued with Elissa. All he could see was his trusty notebook flying through the air seemingly on it's own.

His reaction was as follows:

There was a moment where he did nothing, having not fully processed what he was seeing yet. Then his eyes slowly widened until they looked ready to pop out. In a very un-Kyoya like fashion, his jaw dropped as he made a noise that sounded like something between crying and screaming before flying backwards into the wall and pointing at the notebook with a quivering hand.

"Uh- wha- guh- wha-" was all he could get out.

Tamaki and Miyako glanced at each other, and the former could only grin apologetically offer his best friend a weak shrug.

"I told you they were real." 

* * *

><p>Kenji was sitting in the front seat of the limousine reading a car magazine when the group came out. He waved them over, growing confused when he noticed there were three people exiting the house rather than the two that had gone in. After making sure the door was locked, the group headed for the car. Tamaki had some trouble since he was carrying the catatonic Kyoya on his back.<p>

"Wha- wha- wha-" Kyoya was still letting what he'd just discovered sink in.

"Fujioka's still with Matsumoto, right?" Miyako asked casually.

Tamaki nodded, amazed at how nonchalant she was about the whole thing. She didn't seem the least bit bothered by Kyoya discovered her secret, nor did she acknowledge his babbling.

"They're in the park, the one Matsumoto went to yesterday."

"Got it," Miyako answered. "Kenji can probably find it."

She stopped to send her driver an evil look.

"After he explains why he wasn't keeping watch like he was _suppose_ to."

Kenji edged back into his seat, Miyako's anger was always incredibly scary for him.

"Uh…" he searched frantically for some way to appease her. "Uh… did something go wrong?"

Miyako gave him a deadpan look, then jerked her head at Tamaki and the young man he had with him. Kenji looked back and forth between them, then grinned apologetically.

"Sorry?" he tried pathetically.

"You're fired," Miyako countered.

"Oh, that's what you always say," Kenji snorted as Tamaki loaded Kyoya into the limo and called over to Kyoya's own driver that the Ootori boy was coming with them. 

* * *

><p>Haruhi was beginning to get tired of waiting. Much as she wanted to help Matsumoto, the sun was starting to sink and Tamaki still hadn't arrived with the letter from Yuri. He had texted her almost ten minutes ago, and she'd felt just from reading it that something wasn't right. His text was quick and lacked proper punctuation, that wasn't like Tamaki at all.<p>

Matsumoto wasn't saying much anymore, just staring at the sky, lost in thought. She'd suggested leaving just after Haruhi got the text, and Haruhi had been forced to distract her by indirectly asking for another story. The silence now permeating was starting to get to her. Haruhi twiddled her thumbs, casting glances at the open gates every two seconds. Where was he?

Haruhi jolted when Matsumoto sighed and stood up.

"It's getting late," she said. "I need to be getting home. You do too, right Haruhi-kun?"

The 'boy' in question had an inward moment of conflict, trying to figure out what she could do or say this time to stall for more time. Why the hell wasn't he here yet?

"Oh, uh…" _'Think, Haruhi, think!'_

Matsumoto blinked, confused by the brunette's strange behavior.

"Is everything alright?" She asked.

Haruhi's mouth opened, but no sound came out aside from a loud giggle-like noise that made Matsumoto jump.

"I'm fine," Haruhi managed to get out. "I just uh…"

A revving engine sounded in the distance, growing louder and louder until finally slowing to a stop. Haruhi prayed for it to be Tamaki, and her hope was rewarded when she spotted a flash of blonde out the corner of her eye. That had to be him. Perfect timing, too.

Now, to distract Matsumoto.

"I just…" Haruhi searched her mind for something to say. "That… tree you mentioned earlier. The one in that story where you broke your- your leg, was it?"

Matsumoto blinked a second time, before understanding dawned on her face.

"Oh yeah," She answered, nodding her head. "What about it?"

Haruhi was about to answer, but movement somewhere behind her caught her attention first. She forced herself not to look, hoping that he was keeping out of sight.

"Well, you said it was over here, right?" Haruhi continued her baiting. "Which one was it, that one?"

Haruhi randomly shoot her finger out, pointing at a tree ten feet away. Matsumoto chuckled and shook her head.

"No, that's not it," she answered. "It's too small. The tree was somewhere over…"

The short haired girl trailed off as she walked in the direction opposite of where they'd been standing, just as Haruhi hoped she would. Without wasting a moment, Haruhi slowly stepped backwards, then took on in a run straight for the now visible Tamaki. He stood behind a large tree, a plain white envelope in hand which he held out to her the moment she was close enough to snatch it up

"What are you going to do with it?" Tamaki frantically whispered. "Are you just going to hand it to her?"

Haruhi gave him a look. "And have to answer her questions about where I got it?"

"We have to get it to her somehow!" he responded in a voice that was only just a whisper.

Haruhi shook her head, glancing back at Matsumoto who was still obliviously searching for the tree, then at the bench where their school bags sat.

Wait…

"I know," Haruhi said before shooing the questioning Tamaki behind the tree and running back to the park bench, envelope clutched in her hand.

Matsumoto came back a minute later, having found the tree. Haruhi did her best to hide her heavy breathing as her frazzled mind settled, she'd accomplished her task with no problems. As Matsumoto lead her to the tree, Haruhi eyed the girl's slightly open book bag. Yuri's T.S. Elliot book was clearly visible, bringing a little smile to her face.

Afterwards, the two girls headed back to the gate. Haruhi took a quick glance at the tree Tamaki'd been hiding behind before, he was nowhere to be found. They exited the park and found Matsumoto's transport waiting for them.

"You know, Matsumoto," Haruhi said casually. "Maybe you should read that T.S. Elliot book. You might like it."

This observation earned a small smile from the other girl, who clutched her bag a little tighter to her.

"Maybe I will," Matsumoto answered. 

* * *

><p>Tamaki and the others watched Haruhi and Matsumoto go. The limousine drove slowly around the corner, disappearing from view. Only then did Tamaki relax.<p>

"I think we did it," he said with a grin.

Miyako nodded, leaning against her own transport and watching Kyoya continue his freak out in the back seat. By now, he had regained control of his mind enough to form coherent sentences, however he still wouldn't talk to anyone or stop repeating a certain phrase.

"They're real… they're real… they're actually real…"

Beside her, Hoki let out a bored sigh.

"This is really starting to get annoying," he remarked to the female medium.

"Gee," Miyako answered. "I wonder whose fault that is."

"Sooo," Kenji stuck his head out from the open car window. "Is the ghost okay now?"

The group turned to Yuri, who was standing off to the side, gazing at the sunset. She looked away, perhaps sensing the eyes on her and gave a smile.

"Yes, thank you," she said. "I think Fuchiko-chan will be okay now."

Tamaki nodded his head.

"She has a lot of people supporting her. Her friends, and everyone at the Host Club."

Yuri blinked, then her smile changed somewhat.

"Oh right, you're from that Host Club she always talked about."

At this, Tamaki perked up even more.

"She mentioned us?"

"Yeah," Yuri confirmed. "She would go on and on about you guys. That honor student kid in particular. Come to think about it, I think Fuchiko may even have a little crush on him. It's kinda cute."

The ghost didn't seem to notice Tamaki face faulting, his good feelings taking a punch to the gut. Any further thought on the matter, however, was lost when Tamaki looked back up and realized Yuri was fading away.

"I guess it's time," she said, closing her eyes in acceptance of her fate. "Thank you both very much."

"What about me?" Hoki asked sourly, earning a glare from Elissa.

Yuri vanished completely just after saying her last. Unlike the times before, there had been no light, not even a small one. It reminded Tamaki of that woman they encountered when he himself was still a ghost. She'd gone the exact same way, but only because she'd been so bitter and angry. Yuri didn't seem too sad at all just now.

Wanting answers, Tamaki turned to his only potential sources of information.

"Miyako," he addressed her. "There wasn't a light."

Miyako eyed him with a bored expression.

"For her?" She asked, pointing to the spot where Yuri once stood. "No, she's not going to heaven."

"What?" Tamaki gasped in horror. "Why not?"

"Because she _killed herself_," Miyako emphasized her words heavily, as if trying to smack him with them. "Suicides never go into the light. Not at first anyway."

Tamaki face relaxed, though his question weren't done and Miyako sensed this.

"Whenever someone just vanishes like that," she explained while opening the car door. "It means they're going to some kind of… in between point, I guess."

"You mean like purgatory?" Elissa offered.

Miyako answered her with a shrug. "If you want to get religious about it, sure."

Tamaki took a few moments to think about this.

"So, it's a place where they atone?" He asked. "And when they're done, they go to heaven, right?"

"How should I know," Miyako countered. "I mean, I hope they do, and I'm sure Yuri will eventually but… it all depends on the person."

Miyako hoisted a leg into the car, her ankle length black skirt covering her leg up to where her boot began. Tamaki slowly followed her, sliding into the limousine seat, careful not to disturb Kyoya.

"Not everyone goes to Heaven, Suoh," Miyako finished as Tamaki closed the door with a shaking hand and the engine started up again. 

* * *

><p>The next day dawned over Ouran Academy, and was spent with another several hours of learning before the final bell rang and extra curricular activities started.<p>

Today, Hikaru and Kaoru were the first to arrive in the third music room, having been excused five minutes early from their last class of the day. They lounged around their usual area, sipping commoner's coffee and listening to the ticking clock.

"The others should be here soon," Kaoru muttered.

"Yeah," Hikaru agreed between drinks.

As predicted, the doors opened with a creak a moment later, and Hunny-senpai walking in with Mori-senpai right behind him. The pairs exchanged greetings and then went back to their subdued state until the final three members arrived.

"You're not going to try anything," Kaoru warned his older brother. "Right?"

Hikaru rolled his eyes. "Of course not. I already told you I'm over it."

He gulped down the remainder of his coffee and set the cup down hard, the noise would have sufficiently annoyed the Boss if only he were around to hear it.

"I just hope the Boss is over that psychic junk of his," Hikaru muttered, laying back in the cushy seat. "Next he'll be claiming he can read minds or something."

Kaoru chuckled softly.

The twins quieted again, while an unseen presence stood directly behind them. One who had listened carefully to their words and smiled a devilish smile when they brought up Tamaki. It seemed these were people the kid had wanted him to 'talk' to. Hoki looked around, catching a glimpse of a decorative bowl near the center of the room that held what appeared to be assorted fruit.

Still grinning, the male ghost gazed down at the little girl ghost beside him.

"Hey, Naru-chan," he said playfully. "You want to learn how to juggle?" 

* * *

><p>The remaining Host Club members, along with Miyako, walked down the hall in a line, their destination only a short walk away. Tamaki took a deep breath, he'd been in a pretty good mood all day. It was nice knowing that his best friend finally believed him, even though it had taken some mild mental trauma and several hours of explanation once Kyoya had come out of it to get to this point. In the end, Kyoya accepted that his friend was telling the truth, and promised that he'd help him and Haruhi convince the others.<p>

All they had to do was never, ever mention Kyoya's 'temporary loss of composure' (as he'd dubbed it) to anyone. Ever. Tamaki had absolutely no problem agreeing to that.

"Will you be staying today, Ms. Kita," Kyoya questioned the girl beside him.

Miyako shook her head but didn't look up.

"I'm just here to help Suoh," she answered. "Seeing as you already know about me, the rest of them will probably find out eventually. Might as well not stall it."

Kyoya smiled, taking note of the extreme bitterness in her voice. "You're being very cooperative, I appreciate that."

_'Don't patronize me…'_ Miyako thought to herself, resisting the urge to send a death glare at the Ootori boy.

The found themselves in front of the double doors soon after. Tamaki grasped the door handle, pulling it open to reveal their club room. His jaw dropped, and he could hear his companions having similar reactions.

"…well," Miyako awkwardly observed. "I guess you won't be needing me after all."

Inside the room, Hoki stood near the bowl of fake fruit they used as decoration. His hands were busy throwing three apples up and down in rotation while Naru looked on, completely amazed.

"You see, it's easy, once you get the hang of it," he said to her.

"That's amazing, Mr. Hoki!" Naru cheered. "You're really cool!"

"Yeah, I know," the cocky ghost answered.

Tamaki stared at the juggling ghosts, then switched to watching Hikaru and Kaoru as the twins clung to each other, staring at the floating fruit with identical looks of absolute horror.

In the corner, Mori-senpai pushing himself as far up the wall as he could, holding Hunny-senpai to him about as tightly as the small boy held his Usa-chan. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was bothering them.

"Oh, hi, Tama-chan!" Hunny greeted him with slight difficulty.

"Hi there, Hunny-senpai," Tamaki returned in a daze. "I see you've met Hoki."

On hearing his name, Hoki turned around, allowing the fruits to drop to the floor.

"Hey, kid!" he called out. "I don't think you'll be having a problem with them anymore."

Tamaki mutely nodded while Kyoya calmly walked to the center of the room to pick up the fruits and put them back in their proper place. Meanwhile, Hikaru and Kaoru shakily got up. Their wide eyes bore into Tamaki's, demanding an explanation. Mori-senpai let go of Hunny-senpai and followed the twin's example. Faced with the horrified and incredulous stares of his friends, Tamaki could do nothing aside from shrug and give a weak grin.

"Now do you believe me?" He asked.

No one answered, then Hikaru fainted.

Thus, another chapter in Tamaki's new life began.


	5. The Opposite End!

Three men walked in a line down the long, narrow hallway. This wasn't as average a sight as it sounds, because the man in the middle wore handcuffs and a bag over his head. The men on either side of him kept a firm grip on his arms. It wasn't like he had anywhere to run or even a way to escape them, but regulations and protocol needed to be carried out. If either man had it their way, they'd be nowhere near the man in the middle. It was just their rotten luck they'd been the prison guards selected to escort him.

The chamber door was just ahead, not that the man in the middle could see it. He could only hear the rhythmic thuds of their footfalls and feel the cold metal of the handcuffs on his wrists. He wondered how many people had taken this walk before him, and if they were as feared or notable as he himself. Probably not. He took pride in his notoriety, he'd be nothing without all that media attention after all. This would surely make headline news tomorrow, shame he wouldn't be around to read the article and gloat about his fame to the inmates brave enough to get within 20 feet of him.

The hands on his arms tightened, forcing him to stop walking. He heard a squeaking not two seconds later and grinned. It was time.

The guards led him into the room. He could feel heat on his exposed hands and neck. Hadn't these morons heard of air conditioning? Their hands removed themselves, and another person came up to remove his handcuffs. He didn't fight and he wouldn't run. Another hand, much more brutal than the other, grabbed him and pulled him away.

"Get moving," a harsh voice told him.

The man grinned. He wondered if this guy knew one of his old con quest or if he was just a 'kind, caring individual disgusting by his crimes against humanity blah blah blah.' It was pathetic either way.

He was lead through another door, into the room where he would spend his final few minutes. The hand stopped him at a point in the middle of the room. Underneath one foot, he could feel the indenture where the floor would separate. A rope was wrapped tight around his neck, tight enough to make breathing difficult.

"What?" He muttered mockingly to the person next to him. "I not allowed a few final breaths?"

"I'd rather you never breathed at all," the man hissed back.

He was starting to wish they'd remove this bag from his head, he imagined the man's face probably looked hilarious right now.

Footsteps signaled the man's departure, as did the door slamming shut behind him. Now alone in the room, he moved his neck from side to side, trying to make the noose around his neck as comfortable as possible. A voice appeared above him, coming out of an intercom from the sound of it.

"Sasayama Makoto," the voice stated. "You have been found guilty of six counts of rape and murder in the first degree. For your crimes, you have been sentenced to death on this day."

"Tell me something I don't know, why don't you?" He muttered sarcastically.

A short pause followed.

"I'm assuming those are your last words?" The intercom asked.

He shrugged.

"Yeah, pretty much."

The lever was pulled and the ground disappeared beneath him.

* * *

><p>It was Tuesday afternoon, 4:30 pm. The Host Club was up and running for another day of pampering ladies and making them happy.<p>

The Host Club King himself currently had his hands full with four different guests, but he could manage. He'd done it plenty of times before, after all. Tamaki listened intently as the guest to his right talked about her recent birthday party, lamenting her inability to invite him due to his being comatose at the time.

"I still can't believe such an awful thing happened to you, Tamaki," the girl was saying, looking away so he wouldn't see her tears. "I can't imagine what it must be like, missing two whole months of your life. I wish it could have been prevented."

Tamaki smiled, gently gripping her chin to pull her closer.

"Just the fact that you care so much is enough for me," he whispered. "My dear, caring princess…"

She looked like she was about to melt into a puddle of fan girl goo, and the time it took her to recompose itself was enough for Tamaki to reflect on her words.

He'd had that thought on his own several times. He lost two whole months because of that accident, awakening in a ghost like state just two days before returning to his body. He didn't even know why it had taken so long for him to come back, nor why it happened in the first place.

The only clue he had was from his reading into Japanese folklore. Miyako had been right when she said the souls of the gravely ill were known to leave their bodies behind until either better or dead. All the books he'd been reading lately said about the same. The only thing that didn't make sense to him was again, why had it taken so long? He should have come right back and spent those two months conscious in his ghost form, right? Unfortunately, nothing much was written about that, leaving Tamaki unable to except this theory as a concrete explanation.

It didn't matter, he supposed. In spite of everything, Tamaki was truly glad it all happened. Losing two months was a small price to pay for all he'd gained. He was glad to have his little sister, Miyako, even if she hadn't completely warmed up to her older brother yet. His new abilities, for all the sad sights that came with them, he would never give up. It was amazing, this world around them that only a select few could see.

Speaking of which, there were the other new friends he'd made. The blonde glanced around at the ghosts as he thought this. Naru was next to him, as usual; Hoki had taken to standing over the twins and comically mimicking their actions purely for his own enjoyment; Elissa was sitting by Haruhi and her guests.

Oh yes, Haruhi. He was beyond happy to have his relationship with her. Who knows how long it would have taken him to realize his feelings had the accident been avoided. He would've continued with his delusion of being nothing more than a father figure to the girl he now dreamed of marrying and starting a family with, and those were decidedly un-fatherly thoughts as it was.

"Uh, Tamaki? Tamaki?"

The blonde started, shooting his gaze back at the now wide eyed and confused guest. He uttered a quick apology with just enough grace to charm her into oblivion for the second time. Tamaki gave a soft sigh, he really had to work on not going off thinking about Haruhi while hosting, no matter how difficult that may have been.

* * *

><p>Outside the Ouran campus, the figure of a man raced across the front yard. He moved as fast as his scrawny legs would carry him through the door and into the building. All the while chanting a single phrase over and over again.<p>

"…keep going… keep going… keep going…"

* * *

><p>Tamaki laughed heartily at the story his guest was telling. He knew how to make fake laughter sound realistic (what kind of host would he be otherwise?), but he found genuine amusement in the girl's story.<p>

"So I managed to get the teapot away from him, but remember what I said about him not liking cats?"

Tamaki grinned.

"Oh, I think I know where this is goi-"

The words caught in Tamaki's throat as the room temperature seemed to drop. No, drop was the wrong word, plummet was more like it. Tamaki shivered involuntary, his guest's voices drowned out by what should have been merely soft breathing. Breathing… what was that?

Whatever it was grew louder, and the blonde suddenly felt the humor leave him. In fact, he felt as though every happy emotion he had was sucked away from him. Tamaki gasped, the teacup falling from his hands onto the floor. He wrapped his arms around himself, swallowed in feelings of fear, hopelessness, and crippling, unending sadness.

"…amaki? Tamaki-kun! What's wrong with you?"

The blonde exhaled heavily. His body jerked forwards and his head shot in all different directions. Fear still gripped his heart, but it was his own. Those horrible feelings had vanished along with the harsh, unnatural breathing. He also noticed that the temperature had gone back to normal.

It was as if nothing had happened, and judging by the purely confused and scared looks on his client's faces, nothing had.

At least, nothing _they_ could experience.

* * *

><p><strong>6:00 pm: The Host Club is now closed.<strong>

"We missed you today," Tamaki whined into the phone. "You didn't come to visit yesterday either. Do you know how that makes your big brother feel?"

The blonde heard his 'little sister' growl in annoyance.

"Suoh, I'm not your sister," Miyako deadpanned. "And I already told you, I have to baby-sit Yomiko and Yoko tonight."

Tamaki blinked. "I didn't know you baby-sat your sisters."

"Normally Mrs. Noda does," Miyako answered. "But she and most of our staff have the night off. The only ones left are the unreliable ones."

"I heard that!" Kenji yelled from somewhere in the background.

"And Rika's here too," Miyako added as a side note.

Kenji groaned loudly, while Rika shouted a greeting to Tamaki that he just barely caught.

"Well, alright," the Host King relented. "But…"

A beat.

"But what?" Miyako asked slowly.

Tamaki's mouth opened wordlessly. A struggle was happening in his mind, two sides fighting over what he should say next. If he told her what happened, she'd probably have an answer. The blonde had earlier made an offhand comment to Kyoya about the room temperature, and his friend had nothing to say about the sudden drop he'd experienced. That was enough for Tamaki to know he'd been the only one who felt it. Kyoya definitely would have said something right away if he had.

This could only mean whatever he felt was… well, not a ghost. No ghost he'd met so far was like _that_. Whatever this thing was, it felt much too dark. Much too, dare he say it, _evil_ to be a regular old ghost.

That was precisely the reason he was having such a hard time telling Miyako about it. She would probably know what it was. Unlike Tamaki, Miyako had been born with her abilities, so of course she must have felt that at some point. So logically, she'd be the person he should ask.

He stood up a little straighter and cleared his throat. No fear, no fear at all. Just tell her.

"Miyako, I… know we have a big test coming up, so you, me and Kyoya should form a study group! How's that sound?"

While Tamaki mentally kicked himself, he could almost hear Miyako's eyebrow go up.

"Study group," she repeated. "Maybe. I don't know."

"T-think about it," Tamaki answered while leaning face first into the wall. He sank to the floor in utter shame at his cowardice as Miyako bid him farewell and the line went dead.

"What's wrong with me?" He moaned in the corner several seconds later. "Why didn't I tell her?"

Someone coughed behind him.

"While I don't mean to interrupted your important sulking time, I need to go over the details of our next cosplay with you," Kyoya didn't even bother looking up from his writing as he said all this. He closed the notebook right after and this time looked Tamaki in the eye. "Also, you need to speak to Mori-senpai. _Immediately_."

* * *

><p>Tamaki found Mori-senpai in his and Hunny-senpai's usual corner. Specifically, he found Mori-senpai pushed up against the wall clutching Hunny-senpai to him, not unlike the day he and the others 'met' Hoki for the first time.<p>

Now that he thought about it, Mori-senpai had been rather on edge since then. It was especially bad when one of the ghosts (usually Hoki) made their presence known by walking heavily or picking things up.

Such as right now.

"Okay, toss it back, Naru-chan!" Hoki smacked his hands together, crouching down like a baseball catcher.

The toddler ghost struggled to pick up the crumpled paper they were using as a ball. It seemed she was having about as much trouble as Tamaki had when he was a ghost.

"Come on, you can do it," Hoki encouraged her before walking over and picking up the paper ball. "Here, I'll show you again."

Elissa stood off to the side, her arms crossed as she shook her head and muttered quietly about 'Cretins' and the like. Tamaki took his cue to jump forward and snatch the ball away, letting out a quick yell to get their attention.

"Just, hold on a minute, you two," Tamaki told him before Hoki could protest.

The blonde moved away from the two ghosts and towards Mori-senpai. The silent young man had more emotion on his face right now than ever before in the entire time Tamaki knew him. Hunny-senpai, though clearly not enjoying being squeezed like this, smiled bright as ever at the taller blonde.

"Sorry about this, Tama-chan," he grunted.

Tamaki shook his head, smiling nervously. "It's fine. I'm just wondering what's got Mori-senpai so upset lately."

"Yeah, what gives?" Hoki called out. "He scared of ghosts or something?"

Tamaki chuckled while turning his head.

"Oh, come on Hoki, that's…" Tamaki trailed off, suddenly realizing that everything Mori-senpai had been doing lately, leaving quickly after hours, looking over his shoulder constantly, keeping Hunny-senpai close like he was a security blanket…

"That makes sense, actually."

Tamaki looked back at Mori-senpai, who hadn't moved an inch since he last saw him.

"Mori-senpai," He started gently. "Are you afraid of ghosts?"

He heard a collective gasp. It seemed he wasn't the only one who hadn't come to this, really very obvious, conclusion before now. Mori-senpai gave no verbal answer, but his head jerked down a bit, almost like a nod. Thankfully, confusion was averted when Hunny-senpai decided to speak.

"Takashi never liked ghost stories," he explained with slight difficulty. "Our cousin used to tell them whenever he visited. Poor Takashi got horrible nightmares."

"Why didn't you mention that before?" Hikaru muttered in the background.

Footsteps alerted Tamaki to someone approaching before a head of brown hair appeared just at the bottom of his line of vision. The blonde stepped back a bit, giving his girlfriend some more breathing room as she examined the scene.

"Mori-senpai," her voice was calming, like a mother comforting a child. "You don't have to be afraid. I've… well, I haven't exactly 'spoken' to them, but from what Tamaki tells me, the ghosts all really nice. One of them is a little girl even. Little girls aren't scary, right?"

Once again, Mori-senpai remained silent, not even a grunt or a sigh. However, his grip on Hunny-senpai seemed to lessen a bit, if the relieved look on the 'boy's' face was any indication. In addition, he relaxed his tense body, letting it slide a little down the wall. Haruhi smiled.

"Think of this as an opportunity to face your fears," she went on.

"That's right," Tamaki took this chance to enter the conversation. "Think of how much stronger you'll be as a person. While it's true some ghosts aren't friendly, a lot of them are. I wouldn't let them come around if they weren't."

Tamaki glanced around at his three friends, who all offered him wide smiles. He answered in turn before focusing on Mori-senpai again. The tall young man sighed loudly. He slowly let go of Hunny-senpai, moved away from the wall.

"Where are they?" His voice rumbled.

Tamaki pointed in the still grinning ghosts' direction.

"Right over there, all three of them," he explained. "Elissa likes spending time around you and Hunny-senpai, she thinks he's cute."

This got Hunny-senpai's attention. The small boy smiled widely and laughed as he ran to where Tamaki had just pointed.

"I bet you're really cute too, Eli-chan!"

Tamaki chuckled. Both due to Hunny-senpai's actions and because his upperclassmen had missed his mark and had actually just spoken to Hoki, who stared back awkwardly.

"Eli-chan?" He repeated with slight disgust. "Don't tell me this kid's gonna give me a nickname like that too."

"You already have one," Elissa mockingly responded.

"Oh wait," Hoki interrupted her, raising hands and smiling sardonically. "Let me guess, _'Cretin'_?"

"DAH!" Tamaki's shout caused everyone to start, as well as accomplished his goal of quieting Hoki and Elissa before yet another fight could break out. The last time they fought had been last night and he'd been up until 2 am trying to calm them down. "Let's be nice, you too. Children are present!"

Meanwhile, Hikaru leaned into Kaoru.

"Man, this is weird," he muttered. "It's like he's talking to the air."

Kaoru nodded in agreement, as did Kyoya, who was standing close to them and unwittingly listening in. The bespectacled boy continued to write, drowning out the 'one-sided' conversation his best friend was having. A 'hmm' sound escaped his lips.

"This will certainly take some getting used to," he observed.

* * *

><p>A light turned on.<p>

The whole of the Girl's locker room was revealed to the soaking wet, worn out members of Ouran Academy's Girl's Swim Team. A dozen girls filed into the room, some talking and laughing together, others just trying to shower and dress quickly so they could go home and get some much needed rest.

One of them was Azuma Shinju. Azuma pulled her waist length hair into a fluffy white towel, drying it as much as possible before getting her hair dryer out. She walked to the full length mirror and groaned in annoyance when she pulled the towel off to reveal a knotted bush of hair. It was going to be a pain to brush out.

"Maybe I should cut it," Azuma muttered to herself as she reached for her comb.

"Hey, Shinju-chan!" Called out one of her friends. "We're going out for karaoke tonight, you in?"

Instead of turning around, Azuma just smiled at her friend's reflection and shook her head.

"I'm pretty tired," she answered. "I'm just gonna head straight home."

Her friend shrugged and went back to changing.

The girls talked and laughed and packed up just like any other day. They remained utterly oblivious to the figure sitting on top of the lockers, a lecherous grin on his dirty face.

"What a lovely hiding place," he said to no one in particular. "As long as those things don't find me, I think I'd like to stick around."

He eyed one girl over by the mirror, Azuma, her friend had called her. She was a pretty one, such beautiful long hair. Just like the last girl he 'knew' before his arrest. Something stirred within him, urges that hadn't died when he did. His smile became a grin. He couldn't hold a girl the way he used to, but that didn't mean he couldn't touch, did it?

He jumped down from the locker. He'd never been very athletic, but with death came a lack of pain and boundless energy. He studied Azuma's body. She hadn't changed out of that bathing suit yet. For shame, he wanted to see her lovely body.

His hand reached out, his grin widening. If she wouldn't take it off herself, he'd just help her along.

* * *

><p>Haruhi rubbed the final teacup dry and placed it neatly in the cupboard atop the rest. Tamaki stood beside her cleaning the plates. He'd been doing that more often lately, especially when coming over to her house for dinner. He always insisted on setting the table and cleaning up afterwards because, 'it was only right to extend such courtesy to his gracious hosts.'<p>

Really, he was just trying to get on her father's good side. Not that Haruhi blamed him.

"How's Matsumoto-san?" Tamaki asked all of a sudden.

"She's fine," Haruhi answered without looking up. "I think she read the note, she's been much happier these last few days."

Tamaki smiled that adorable smile that made her go weak at the knee, which she'd never tell him.

"I'm glad," he answered with genuine cheer. "It seems everything's looking up lately."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The scream came not from a member of the Host Club, but from somewhere out the open double doors. Even so, the reaction was instantaneous. All seven hosts dropped what they were doing and ran. Though they weren't sure where the scream had come from, they were aided in their search by the ever growing shouts of several girls. At one point, Haruhi noticed an open door down one hallway, and heard the voices grow even louder as she passed.

"Over here!" She shouted.

She and the six boys ran down the hall, stopping at the threshold and ignoring the half-naked girls who moved out of sight. Their focus instead was on the terrified girl lying on the ground by the mirrors and shaking. Haruhi recognized her immediately.

"Azuma-san."

The brunette's regular customer snapped to attention. She took a moment to just stare at Haruhi before getting right up and running to her in tears, heedless of her moist body.

"Oh, Haruhi," the girl sobbed into Haruhi's shoulder. "I-it was awful. S-someone grabbed me. They tried to pulled my swimsuit off and-"

Her words ended there as she dissolved into tears again.

The brunette glanced around awkwardly. Smiles and casual flirting she could do, comforting hysterical girls who'd just dealt with a potential rapist, not so much. Still unsure, she wrapped her arms gently around Azuma. She could already feel her uniform getting stained with water, so no point in worrying about that now.

"Azuma, calm down," she whispered softly but firmly. "Tell me again slowly. What did he look like?"

The girl hiccupped and her sobs didn't stop, but they lessened enough that she could lift her head and look into Haruhi's brown eyes as she answered.

"That's the thing," she choked out. "I don't- I don't know if it was a m-man. I couldn't _see_ him."

"You couldn't-" Haruhi began to repeat, but Azuma wasn't done yet.

"Don't you understand?" She jerked her arm at the mirror before them. "I was standing right there looking in that mirror. Whoever it was came up from behind and I didn't see their reflection!"

Haruhi's stomach dropped. Though she couldn't see them, she was sure her fellow Hosts had caught the implications of that as well. Now she just wondered how her boyfriend would react to this.

She turned around just in time to see him gasp and clutch his chest, leaning heavily against the wall and shaking.

"Senpai," Haruhi was unable to get up and so she merely called out to him. "What's wrong with you?"

The blonde's head snapped up. Wide, frightened eyes not unlike Azuma's stared back at Haruhi. He'd stopped shaking, but still didn't look particularly calm.

"It happened again. And you didn't feel it…" his voice was soft enough that she almost didn't hear him. "No one did…"

Suddenly, the lights began to flicker. By the time everyone became aware of this, they'd died completely, plunging the locker room into darkness.

* * *

><p>Miyako clicked her tongue and eyed her phone. Yomiko and Yoko were playing some kind of game with their Sailor Moon dolls while Kenji was immersed in yet another car magazine and Rika flipped through channels.<p>

"Why is there never anything on when I actually have time to watch TV," the maid said to herself.

Miyako nodded anyway. She then flipped her phone open again and went to her contacts. Suoh's name and number appeared after a few clicks. She read it carefully, going over each number in her mind and starting over again whenever she finished.

All because he had to act weird over the phone and make her worry.

No, not worry. She wasn't worried about Suoh at all. If he got into some sort of trouble, that his problem and she didn't care in the slightest.

At all.

Ever.

Miyako groaned and shut the phone, leaning back in her chair and bringing a hand to her head.

This action didn't go unnoticed by Rika.

"Problem," the older woman asked, casually dropping the remote on the side table.

"No," Miyako answered with slight defensiveness. "Just a pest control issue."

Rika smiled knowingly and nodded her head.

"Ah, I see. So how is Suoh anyway?"

"He called me before acting strangely," the medium reluctantly explained. Rika probably would have gotten it out of her eventually anyway. "I think he wanted to tell me something important, but then he wimped out."

Rika listened intently, then gave a shrug and relaxed on the couch.

"Call him back."

"No," Miyako snapped, shaking her head. "That's the last thing I'm going to do. If he wants to tell me something, he can call me back himself."

As if to further make this point, Miyako placed her cell phone on the table at the other end of the couch and turned her back to it. Rika just sighed and picked up the remote again. Out the corner of her eye, she saw Miyako glance at the phone at least a dozen times, and wondered why her charge was so desperate to make it seem like she didn't care about the Suoh boy.

* * *

><p>Tamaki felt a great deal of eeriness as he walked down the dark hallways with only a flashlight to guide him. After the power went out, the swim team girls had gone into a nervous frenzy, thinking there was a rapist in the school who would sneak behind them in the dark the way they did Azuma. Nobody wanted to believe her claims that the assailant had been invisible.<p>

It took some time, but they managed to calm everyone down. Tamaki then volunteered to go take care of the lights. His father had an emergency lighting system installed and the button to activate it was in his office. The blonde now strode with purpose through the hallways, alone to the naked eye. He glanced to the side at Hoki and Elissa, the latter of whom had Naru in her arms. The two were pointedly refusing to talk to the other, something that both relieved and upset Tamaki at the same time. They may have been calm now, but it seemed any little thing could set them off and he really didn't want to hear another fight.

They turned a corner. Tamaki felt his heart beat pick up a bit as they did so. He couldn't help but fear every time they turned around, he'd feel… _that_ again. He'd felt it for a second time in the locker room before, and heard that strange breathing sound. The blonde medium had no idea what to make of it, these horrible feelings it brought, the freezing cold air, just how was is doing that? And why couldn't he see it?

"Trouble, kid?"

Tamaki yelped, flying several feet in the air. Naru giggled at the sight while Hoki just snorted.

"Woah, chill out, kid, why are you so tense?"

"I-I am no-not," Tamaki ground out. "I'm just…"

"Tense," Hoki supplied.

Tamaki glared at him, but there was nothing behind it. He exhaled deeply and started walking again, the ghosts quick to follow. None of them were ready to give up probing him either.

"Come now, Tamaki dear," Elissa was saying. "You can tell us if something's wrong."

"Yeah, we won't tell no one!" Naru added in.

Tamaki gave the child an empty smile. It was true, he knew. That was a perk of having ghosts for friends: no matter what you tell them, they can never reveal it to anyone even if they wanted to.

Well, they could tell Miyako, but they wouldn't, he was sure of that. Maybe he was being too trusting, but at the moment he was too shaken up by what had been happening and desperate for answers to care.

He took a deep breath.

"Have any of you guys ever… felt anything weird?"

Hoki and Elissa stopped walking and glanced at each other. Naru just tilted her head to the side.

"Uh, we don't feel anything," Hoki said and pointed at himself for emphasis. "Ghost. Remember?"

"That's not what I mean," Tamaki said with a bit more force than he intended. He sighed, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to tell them after all. "I just… it's nothing guys. I'm having a bad day, that's all."

They didn't respond, but it would have been unnecessary anyway, he knew they didn't believe him. He doubted Miyako had believed him before either. Even so, Tamaki just couldn't tell them. Something this horrible couldn't be explained with mere words and he didn't want Naru to know about it, if she didn't already.

He kept telling himself that the entire way to his father's office. It did little to ease his mind or stop the fear ever growing within him.

* * *

><p>Haruhi's shoes echoed, hitting the floor one at a time in rhythm. Even in the dark, she could see the open doors of the Third Music Room fairly well. When she stepped inside, she found everyone but Tamaki waiting for her, as expected. Hikaru and Kaoru were lounging around with Hunny-senpai and Mori-senpai. Kyoya-senpai sat just a bit away from them, concentrating hard on whatever he was reading on his laptop.<p>

Haruhi coughed to get their attention.

"Azuma-san went home," she stated. "Her friends went with her."

"How is she?" Kyoya-senpai asked without looking up.

"She's as good as can be expected," Haruhi answered, shaking her head. "She still believes whatever attacked her was invisible."

Hikaru shrugged at this.

"Yeah, but she's right, isn't she?"

"We don't know that yet," Kyoya answered for Haruhi. "Don't forget, only Tamaki and Ms. Kita could know that for sure. The latter isn't here right now and the former hasn't completed his task ye-"

The bespectacled boy was interrupted when the lights suddenly came back on. A collective sigh of relief followed.

"Finally," Kaoru cheered, relaxing in his seat. "I thought he'd never make it."

Hikaru nodded in agreement and gave a cheeky grin.

"Yeah, we thought the ghosts might've gotten him and taken him away."

At this, Mori-senpai's eyes went wide, and he grabbed the closest thing to him, thankfully not Hunny-senpai this time, and squeezed it to his chest hard enough to break it in half. Haruhi and Hunny-senpai glared at the twins, but only the latter got a viable reaction from them.

Now terror struck, the older twin gave a weak apology, which managed to calm the angry Hunny enough to melt away his frightening glare.

Haruhi sighed, she was getting too tired to deal with the Host Club's shenanigans. Her focus went to Kyoya, who was still immersed in his reading, a deep frown etched on his features. Haruhi blinked and walked over.

"Kyoya-senpai, what are you reading?"

He only barely glanced up at her, his head remaining firmly in place.

"Nothing of importance," he answered as he moved his eyes back to the webpage.

This didn't do much to sate Haruhi's curiosity. The brunette moved to stand behind her Senpai and read over his shoulder. The first thing that caught her eye was a picture of a man with messy brown hair attached to an oval shaped head with a face that, several punches, scars and broken noses ago, may have been handsome. His eyes were half closed, leaving her unable to determine their color. He wore a standard prisoners uniform from a high security prison she'd heard about on the news a few times, one that only housed the most dangerous criminals in Tokyo.

The accompanying text was a news article, headed in big, bold print letters:

**SERIAL RAPIST AND MURDERER EXCUTED**

The article was short, merely explaining that the man, Sasayama Makoto, had been tried and convicted of six counts of rape and murder. All the victims were teenage girls between 15 and 17 years old.

Haruhi read through the article, getting to the start of the final paragraph before Kyoya suddenly sat up and closed the laptop.

"You should get out of that wet uniform," the Shadow King remarked. "It's cold outside, you might get sick."

_'Wet uniform?'_ Haruhi wondered. Instinctively, her eyes moved downwards and were met by the sight of a large, damp stain from where Azuma-san had hugged her.

"Oh," She said aloud.

Kyoya absently pointed at the changing room.

"There's a spare inside that should fit you."

Haruhi nodded. Turning on a heel, she passed Hunny-senpai, who was still scaring Hikaru and Kaoru into submission while trying to calm Mori-senpai down at the same time. Haruhi rolled her eyes as she pulled back the curtain and entered the changing room to find a clean, neatly folded boy's uniform waiting for her.

The brunette made sure the curtain was closed properly and then removed her outer jacket, placing it in the laundry bin they had set up. Her hands reached up, fingering the buttons of her shirt.

She ran her finger over the button, made not of plastic, but some kind of material only a school like Ouran could afford. Haruhi took a deep breath, wondering why she suddenly felt so uncomfortable, like someone was watching her.

* * *

><p>He watched her like a hawk stalking it's prey. His body remained outside the curtain, only his head was on the inside with the petite brunette. He had a feeling from the start this was no boy. No matter how she dressed, she couldn't fool his eyes.<p>

She was exactly his type as well. Short in statue, brown hair, big adorable eyes, lithe frame… it was only a shame he couldn't touch her. He couldn't touch the female bodies he loved so much anymore, but at least in the time he wasn't running from those things, he could look.

And oh, look he shall.

* * *

><p>"We're back!"<p>

Tamaki announced himself loudly, earning only a few glances in his direction as everyone packed up.

"Great," Hikaru said sarcastically. "Now let's get out of here."

As if in agreement with Hikaru, Hunny-senpai took this time to let out a long, loud yawn. Mori-senpai picked him up piggy-back style, deftly avoid getting too close to Tamaki as he walked past. Tamaki then found Kyoya sitting by his laptop. That left everyone accounted for except the person he'd been hoping to see most.

"Where's Haruhi?" He asked Kyoya.

The Shadow King merely pointed in the direction of the changing room, figuring Tamaki would get the message. The blonde did and turned his head.

His jaw and his stomach dropped.

A man. Or at least a man from the neck down in grubby prisoners clothes, literally pushing his head through the curtains where Haruhi was. None of the Hosts noticed him, and that meant only one thing, Tamaki finally knew who Azuma-san's assailant had been. Now, it seemed, the ghost was after Haruhi.

Cold fear gripped the young Suoh heir, but another, much stronger emotion came overshadowed both it and Tamaki's common sense.

Anger.

Teeth grit and eyes wide, Tamaki tore for the changing room, shocking everyone with his enraged screaming.

"YOU BASTARD!"

The ghost jumped and pulled his head out, somehow knowing that he was the one being addressed.

"HOW DARE YOU PEEK IN ON HER!" Tamaki screamed in his face once he was close enough.

The ghost just stared back with confusion and even some fear.

"Woah, you can see me?"

Tamaki would have loved nothing more than to punch the man in the face, or at least tell him exactly what was on his mind at the moment (unrefined and colorful as those words might have been). This was prevented by several things happening at once.

Hoki charged forward, tackling the ghost to the ground. A brawl ensued, leading Elissa to grab Naru and run to the kitchens so the little girl wouldn't have to see it. Then Haruhi burst out of the changing room, her jacket off but her shirt still securely fastened, much to Tamaki's relief.

"What's going on?" She demanded.

"That's what we're wondering!" called out Kaoru.

"It's a ghost," Tamaki answered, still shaking with anger. "He was looking in on Haruhi!"

"What?"

Tamaki wasn't sure which twin said that. He didn't even know if it had been one of the twins. At that moment, a cold chill went up his spine. A very familiar cold chill that was quickly getting worse. Then he heard the breathing.

"Oh God," the blonde fell to his knees, clutching his sides in a vain attempt to warm himself. "Not again."

"Tamaki, what's wrong?" Haruhi… was that Haruhi?

He couldn't focus on anything anymore, except the breathing, and the cold, and the misery. This was the worst yet. The breathing was louder and more frequent, almost as if there were more than one. He felt like his own breathing was about to cut off, and only the terrified cries of the ghost Hoki was wrestling brought him out of it, if only a little.

"Damn it, how do they keep finding me?"

Desperate to get free, the ghost elbowed Hoki in the face. It had the desired effect, making Hoki shout more in annoyance than pain and allowed the ghost to stand and break into a run. He zoomed out the door just as the lights began to flicker again.

"Are you kidding me?" Someone said in response to this.

When they went out completely, darkness filled the ballroom again. Tamaki heard a soft whoosh, and the breathing began to lessen. His body started to heat up again and the feelings of agony left him. He didn't feel any better at all.

Because in the dark, with only the light of the rising moon shining in, Tamaki could finally see it.

See _them_, rather.

They had no shape, just balls of black, smoky shadows rising from the floor, the walls, the ceiling even. They breathed as one, whipping through the room and to the door after the peeping ghost. Tamaki's shock filled eyes followed them, his mind beginning to piece things together.

_'These things. They're after that man?'_ He thought to himself. _'But why?'_

Lost in his thoughts, Tamaki was barely aware that his friends and his girlfriend were crowding around his fallen form, asking for (read: demanding) answers. He could vaguely make out their individual voices. Haruhi was calm as ever, but she was close to losing it, he could tell. The twins were shouting as was Hunny-senpai. Hoki was moaning in the background about how, 'he almost had that jackass.'

Tamaki watched the final shape exit the room. He could still hear the ghost's footfalls as it ran. Those things would probably be chasing him all over the school.

Something about that thought sent Tamaki's mind working again. Unfortunately, it went into overdrive, leading him to shoot right up and take off after the ghost without even bothering to explain anything.

"Stay here!" He managed to yell over his shoulder, directing it at everyone, both living and dead.

"Tamaki, wait!" He heard Haruhi shout.

The other's made similar pleas, but he drowned them all out.

No matter what, even if he had to experience _that_ again, he had to know what was going on. As he ran, he reached into his pocket and fumbled around for his cell phone. He frantically dialed, somehow not messing up and getting the right numbers punched in.

The phone rang only twice before it was picked up. Tamaki was greeted by a not so happy voice in his ear.

"What do you want, Suoh?" Miyako boredly asked. "My battery's about to die and I told you, I'm bus-"

"Miyako, under most circumstances, I would respect your desire for privacy," he said loudly to stop her from talking. "Please listen before I lose my nerve. Have you ever seen a bunch of black shadow-y things that can breath and make you feel cold and unhappy?"

There was a long pause. Tamaki couldn't even hear breathing at the other end.

"What are you talking about?" Miyako's voice was oddly serious.

"I've been getting this weird feeling all day," Tamaki elaborated. "I hear someone breathing, but no one's there. I feel very cold, like the temperature has dropped all the way down, and I get these horribly negative emotions. Almost like I'll never be happy again.

"I couldn't see them until just now. I think they're chasing this ghost who was trying to peek in on Haruhi while she changed. He assaulted another girl before too. Miyako, please just tell me what's going on!"

There was another pause, but this time Tamaki could hearing Miyako's breathing. In fact, she was starting to sound as loud as those things.

"Suoh, go home."

Tamaki stared at the phone, almost hitting a wall as he tried to turn a corner.

"What are you talking about?" He demanded. "I'm not making this up!"

"I know you're not," Miyako snapped back. "I believe you and that's why I'm telling you to go _home_! Do not go anywhere near those things or the ghost they're chasing, understand? Forget it and leave. NOW!"

"Why?" Tamaki argued. "I want to know what's gong on here! Plus, what if that ghost comes back and-"

"Dammit, Suoh! He won't come back, believe me. By tomorrow morning he and the Shadows will be gone for good. Just leave it at that and get out of there."

"Tell me what those things are!"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Tamaki had to pull the phone away as her yelling hurt his ears. "I have no idea what they are! If you must know, I call them 'shadows,' because I have no other way to describe them. All I know is if they're chasing after a ghost, it's… it's because they're taking them to-"

The was a soft click on Miyako's end. Confused, Tamaki pulled the phone away again and was met with a 'call ended' screen.

_'What? Taking them where?'_

* * *

><p>"DAMN!"<p>

Rika and Kenji looked up at the frantic girl running into the room.

"Not really cool to curse in front of the kids," Kenji jerked his head in the oblivious twin's direction.

Miyako ignored that and grabbed Kenji by the arm, pulling him to his feet.

"Come on, we have to go," she ordered.

"Wait, what the hell?" Kenji shouted.

Rika rolled her eyes.

"No arguments," the medium answered equally loud. "We're going to the school right now. Rika, watch Yomiko and Yoko while we're gone."

Miyako ran for the door, still half-dragging the protesting Kenji along with her. Rika watched them go, and glanced at the forgotten cell phone when they disappeared from sight. She heard a car engine start not a moment later.

Sighing, Rika drummed her fingers on the arm rest and asked herself just what had gotten Miyako so worked up.

* * *

><p>Haruhi and the other hosts raced down the halls. They'd lost track of Tamaki sometime ago and so were forced to search blindly for him, with only some flashlights and the moon outside to light the way. The brunette moved along in silence, even while everyone else talked amongst themselves about what could be going on to get Tamaki so worked up. She had to wonder if Hoki, Elissa and Naru-chan were following as well.<p>

Only Mori-senpai was silent. This should have been a given, were it not for the terrified face he wore, or the fact that it was clearly Hunny-senpai driving him to keep going. Haruhi shivered, after what had happened, she wasn't sure she blamed the tall young man for being afraid.

She just hoped and prayed Tamaki hadn't gotten into any trouble.

* * *

><p>Tamaki wasn't having much better luck than his friends.<p>

He'd managed to lose track of the ghost and the 'Shadows' while trying to get back in touch with Miyako. Two voicemail answers later, he gave up and got back to searching. He realized he'd never been so aware of how big this school was and how long and intricate the hallways were. Maybe he should have stayed back or at least asked someone to come with him.

He didn't like the sound of his footsteps, they reminded him of just how alone he was right now. He thought about turning back several times, and as his already great fear grew, that option became increasingly attractive. He wouldn't take it though, frightened as he was, he needed to knew what was happening. He needed to understand what these 'Shadows' were and what Miyako had been trying to tell him.

The blonde turned another corner and stopped. He'd reached a dead end. Tamaki stared at the light pink painted walls, his resolve deflating along with his confidence. He groaned and lightly rested his head against the wall, trying to ride out his intense frustration so he could keep searching.

Then he heard it. Footsteps heading straight for him, getting louder every second. By the time Tamaki looked up, the ghost had rounded the corner and stopped dead in his tracks. The two showed equal amounts of surprise at seeing the other.

"What are you doing here?" The ghost asked, pointing at Tamaki.

"Looking for you," was the medium's stiff reply. He had by no means forgotten that little peeping incident. "What are you running from?"

The ghost gave him an incredulous look.

"You don't know? You can see me, but not them?"

"No, I can," Tamaki shot back. "That's my point, what are they?"

At this, the ghost backed up a bit. The air around him began thick with a fear Tamaki couldn't understand. Then the ghost let out a shriek and started running passed the blonde. Tamaki was about to call after him when he felt it: the temperature dropping, the breathing, the agony. He couldn't see them yet, but he knew.

They were here.

* * *

><p>"Faster," Miyako cried. "We've got to get there now!"<p>

Kenji slapped her hand away when Miyako made like she would grab the wheel from him.

"Knock it off, don't side seat drive," he yelled at her. "We're almost there, so relax. Geez, you take all the fun out of driving the Porsche."

The female medium ignored that last bit in favor of staring out the window, trying to drive off the frantic, fearful thoughts in her head. What if she didn't make it in time? What if Suoh saw…?

Her fist clenched, a wave of horrible memories assaulting her. Memories that haunted her more than she cared to admit.

Suoh would see it eventually, she knew, but she also knew he wasn't ready, wasn't strong enough yet.

"We have to hurry," she said to herself.

_'Before it's too late.'_

* * *

><p>Tamaki's knees were giving out again. He felt the unending sadness for the fourth time in just one night. He never thought he could feel this horrible, it was like every tragedy in his life, but worse.<p>

Worse than his first pet dying.

Worse than the first time he lost a family member.

Worse than leaving his mother.

Worse than almost dying and leaving everyone he loved behind.

This was worse. This was so, so, so much worse.

And as more of them arrived, the feelings increased. He could barely keep himself aware enough to see how many there were. Where on Earth were they coming from?

The ghost screamed.

Tamaki managed turn himself around, finally falling on his knees as he did so. The ghost cowering by the wall as the Shadows surrounded him. Tamaki wondering why he wasn't just phasing through it, until he realized the blackness he was seeing behind the ghost were the Shadows, painting the wall with their unspeakable darkness.

Despite the agony his mind was undergoing, Tamaki somehow remained aware enough to see what was happening, and to hear the ghost's awful screams as the Shadows descended.

"NO! NO PLEASE, I'M SORRY!"

The breathing was getting louder. They were all breathing together, Tamaki realized. He covered his ears, but it did nothing to ease him. They were so loud, so loud…

So loud.

"I KNOW IT WAS WRONG! PLEASE, GOD! FORGIVE ME! DON'T LET THEM- NO!"

Tamaki felt a shaking. At first he thought it was him again, but then he realized it was… the floor?

It shook harder and harder. The Shadows barely reacted to it, nor to Tamaki's frightened scream as he crawls backwards away from them. He didn't get to far before the shaking was so bad, he had to stop moving. By now, it was as if the whole of Ouran Academy was splitting in two.

Tamaki heard a loud crack, and the shaking lessened a bit. Only because the ground had opened up somewhere between him and the ghost the Shadows had captured. The hole opened wide, releasing a thick, impossibly black smoke, and louder screams than any Tamaki ever had and ever would hear again.

The screams were agonized, horrified, miserable, tortured… and they all mingled together with the screams of the ghost and the breathing of the Shadows as they grabbed him one by one, wrapping him in their impenetrable blackness and dragging him to the hole.

"NOOOOO! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! PLEASE! PLEEEASE!"

His words became an incoherent mess mixed was the roaring in Tamaki's ears. He watched it all, his eyes wide, sweat pouring down his front and heart racing too fast to be safe. When he couldn't look anymore, he rolled over, gripping the sides of his head, his mouth open in a silent scream.

Tamaki didn't know how long it went on. He was barely conscious of the remaining shadows plunging into the hole after the ghost, the shaking coming to a stop, the hole sealing up like it had never been there. The only misery tormenting him now was his own. He couldn't get those horrible sounds out of his head, they just replayed over and over again until he couldn't take it anymore.

"…u… h… oh!"

Vaguely, he heard another sound, at least he thought he did.

"Su… oh!"

It sound like… a girl? A girl calling out to him?

* * *

><p>"SUOH! DAMMIT, SUOH!"<p>

Miyako shook the blonde for the umpteenth time since finding him twenty seconds ago. She'd arrived just in time to watch the Shadows leave, and feel their presence just as strongly as all the other times. She'd come to find that no matter how many encounters you had with them, it never got even a tiny bit easier.

Finding Suoh there as well had been like a punch to the gut. She had failed, now all she could do was try to pick up the pieces. First step, snap him out of it.

"Suoh, come on!"

It was proving difficult.

"Come on," Miyako shook him again more violently. She was sure he was conscious and he could probably hear her, but his eyes were unfocused in his catatonia. He was drenched in sweat and completely white with shock and fear.

Frustrated and with no other options, Miyako raised an open palm and slapped him across the face as hard as she could. He winced in pain, which relieved her a bit. At least he was still aware.

"Suoh, talk to me!" Her tone was a bit softer, but still very forceful. "Come on… Tamaki, come on…"

After a tense moment, he took a deep, choking breath and slowly turned his head to look at her. Violet eyes met brown, and they just stared at each other until something seemed to burst in Suoh. His eyes filled with tears and he pulled her into his arms. Miyako made a noise of surprise as he buried his face in her shoulder and sobbed deeply. His cries were so loud, it was lucky no one else was around or they'd be quite the spectacle.

For her part, Miyako was in a shocked state of her own. She hadn't expected this. Crying, sure. Hugging? Not so much.

And she didn't know how to handle it. Dealing with the living was so much different from dealing with the dead, and she didn't understand the former nearly as well. Acting on their own, her arms raised and wrapped themselves around Suoh's back, rubbing up and down in a soothing manner that did little to calm him.

They were like that until a figure appeared down the hallway and stopped right before them. Miyako couldn't see them well in the darkness, but she recognized their voice as belonging to one of Suoh's Host Club members.

"Hey, I think I've found him! Over here!"

He followed that by running towards them. As he got close, Miyako could finally see that he was one of the Hitachiin brothers. The redhead skidded to a stop right in front of them, his eyes moving between both mediums.

"Miyako-senpai?" He asked. "What are you doing here?"

The others arrived just then, leaving Miyako unable to answer. Fujioka pushed her way passed them, falling to her knees before Suoh and Miyako.

"What happened?" She demanded. Though her eyes were dry, Miyako could tell that would change very soon.

The medium looked from her, to the still crying blonde she was holding. Haruhi rested a hand on his shoulder, begging him to talk to her. His only reaction was to take one arm off Miyako and wrap it around her as well, pulling her close.

Suoh held both girls tight and let out all the anguish and pain he was feeling right now. Miyako felt like laughing on the inside. Normally, she'd have pushed him away long ago, perhaps yelling at him for invading her personal space without permission.

Tonight, she wouldn't do that. This time and this time only, she'd let it slide.

* * *

><p>Tamaki was shaking. He'd been doing that a lot today, he realized. But it's not like he didn't have his reasons.<p>

Somehow, he'd been able to calm down enough that Haruhi, Miyako and the others could guide him back to the Third Music Room. He sat in between his girlfriend and his little sister-figure, waiting for Kyoya to finish what he was doing on the laptop. His best friend hadn't said much since they found him, only that there was something he wanted Tamaki to see if he could handle it.

In truth, he probably couldn't, but the blonde put up a brave front. He listened to the sound of Kyoya's fast typing until it suddenly stop and the bespectacled boy looked up. He studied Tamaki for a moment, as if unsure whether or not he should do this. Finally, he picked up the laptop and turned it so Tamaki could see the screen. The blonde paled instantly.

His fist clenched as he stared into bloodshot eyes, eyes that just recently shown with a fear burned into Tamaki's memory, just like the rest of this night would forever be. Tamaki swallowed and gave a quick nod.

"That's him," was all he could say.

Kyoya's eyes fell as he gave a nod of his own and placed the laptop back down.

"His name was Sasayama Makoto," he explained. "He was executed two days ago for raping and murdering six girls. His victims were all teenagers, which might explain why he came here."

Tamaki gave no response. There wasn't really a way to respond to that.

"He said he was sorry."

The blonde turned pleading eyes to Miyako, who merely shook her head.

"Then he was lying," she told him evenly. "I doubt the Shadows would have taken him if he meant it."

Tamaki looked away again, unable to answer for a second time. The following silence was deafening, but Tamaki couldn't bring himself to break it. Luckily, he wasn't the only one bothered by it.

"Sooo," Hikaru piped up. "He's gone now, right?"

"Yes," this was Miyako. Tamaki felt grateful that she answered for him. "He won't be coming back ever again."

Hikaru closed his eyes and opened them, but didn't answer.

Tamaki had his eyes on the floor now. He was afraid that if he looked into the faces of his friends, he'd break down in tears. Then he felt something soft on his hand, another hand, he realized.

"Tamaki…" Haruhi voice was soft and sad. "It's going to be okay. It's all over now."

Somehow, Tamaki found it in him to raise his eyes to her. As he predicted, looking into her loving brown eyes got the tears going again. He brushed them away and inhaled deeply, desperate to make it stop. Haruhi reacted by wrapping her arms around him, an action he quickly reciprocated.

"It'll be okay," he whispered. Perhaps if he said it enough times, he really start to believe it.

He felt another hand, this time on his back. Tamaki didn't turn around, because he knew it could only be one person.

"Suoh," Miyako started. "What you saw… I won't sugarcoat it, you're going to see it again."

This did make him turn, even though it required letting go of Haruhi which was the last thing he wanted to do right now.

"I know it's not pleasant, to put it lightly, but it's real and it happens. You may see it again at any time, so you have to be prepared."

Her voice was harsh, but her face wasn't, it was as if she wasn't looking at him, even though their eyes were locked.

"I'd hoped it wouldn't happen this soon," the female medium admitted. "You've only had your powers for a few weeks. I guess I should have told you, but…"

"Not everyone goes to Heaven, Suoh."

Those words entered his mind with perfect clarity, she'd spoken them only several days ago after all.

He watched her, studied her every movement. Miyako may hide it well, but if she'd seen _that_ before, she must've been just as affected as he was. If not more.

In fact…

"How many times?"

Miyako blinked and furrowed her brow.

"What?" She asked dumbly.

Tamaki swallowed again, he didn't know if he could ask this another time.

"How many times have you seen it?"

Miyako's face relaxed, leaving her completely expressionless. Everyone was listening in, but she paid them no heed. The dark haired girl closed her eyes and sighed.

"I don't know," she answered with a shrug. "I haven't kept count… maybe five or six."

Tamaki nodded, fighting back the bile raising in his throat. He heard a sliding sound and turned his head. Kyoya had stood up, his finger on the bridge of his glasses.

"I think that's enough for tonight," he said calmly. "We've had a hard day, Tamaki especially. It's time to go."

Everyone stared at Kyoya, both twins looked ready to object, but Hunny-senpai and Mori-senpai did nothing. The Shadow King moved to stand in front of his best friend, gazing down at him with hard eyes. Tamaki stared back, not knowing what to make of this and wondering how Kyoya could act so pragmatic right now.

Kyoya then surprised everyone by kneeling down to look Tamaki straight in the eye, placing a hand on top of his.

"If you want me to drive you, or if you want some company tonight, you can stay at my house. Haruhi too if that suits you, I'm sure she doesn't mind."

Tamaki blinked. A glance at Haruhi showed that, while she probably didn't like Kyoya essentially ordering her around, she was in complete agreement.

"I'm sure my father would be alright if I tell him it's Kyoya-senpai's house," she answered, smiling.

"Hey, what about us?" The twins spoke up.

"Me and Takashi too!" Cheered Hunny-senpai. "We want to help make Tama-chan happy again."

"I know we'll be there!" Hoki shouted from where he stood with Elissa and Naru.

Tamaki felt numb, but a good numb. He stared into their faces, his _friends'_ faces. They were all smiling bright, looking cheerful in spite of everything, trying to bring back his own light. Within the depressed, fear ridden recesses of his mind, something new dawned, something warm and happy. He felt tears coming again, but this time, they were happy tears, and so he didn't bother wiping them away.

He felt Haruhi take his hand in hers, and Kyoya followed by placing his own hand on top of theirs. Like a team huddle, everyone did the same thing, including the three ghosts. In the end, only one person wasn't involved in their little moment.

Miyako watched the display, as if she were just a casual observer with no standing or reason to be there. Tamaki looked her in the eye, offering an inviting smile.

_'Come on,'_ He wanted to tell her. _'I want you here too.'_

Her hand, half curled into a fist, went up. It hovered over the Host Club's joined hands. Miyako betrayed no emotion, but her hand continued to quiver. She started and stopped and started and stopped again, until she finally pulled back, pasting a frown onto her face.

"I should go," she said curtly. "I'm supposed to be baby-sitting, and you seem alright now, Suoh."

She walked briskly to the door and didn't look back once. Everyone watched her go with varying reactions of confusion and annoyance. Only Tamaki felt disappointment.

* * *

><p>They exited the building together, each one on the phone with a parent, letting them know they wouldn't be home or, in Kyoya's case, that they'd be having visitors. Ranka had been the most difficult, but a few words from Kyoya convinced him that it was alright and Haruhi would be safe.<p>

Though Tamaki's legs felt like jelly, he managed to walk down the steps with only minimal help from Mori-senpai, who stood beside him in case the blonde fainted or anything else went wrong.

Upon stepping outside, Tamaki noticed that along with the limousine parked outside, a red Porsche was also visible. He noticed a girl in a familiar long black skirt and black dress jacket standing beside it. If the others saw her, they said nothing, perhaps annoyed by her somewhat rude attitude before.

Tamaki, however, was nothing more than curious, and the question he had on his mind led him to momentarily excuse himself to go talk to her, despite his friend's objections.

"Miyako," he called out to her.

The girl didn't turn around, but did stop what she was doing as he approached.

"What is it now?" She demanded tiredly. "I'm waiting for Kenji."

"I…" Tamaki trailed off briefly. "I wanted to ask you one other thing."

Miyako rolled her eyes but turned around to face him anyway.

"What?"

Ignoring her snippy tone, Tamaki took a deep breath and spoke.

"When did you see it for the first time?"

She winced, that was an odd reaction. He also noted a funny look appearing in her eye, one he couldn't quite describe. At least, aside from the fact that for a split second, it made her look much younger than she actually was.

"You're very nosy tonight," she said with some defensiveness. "I guess… about ten or eleven years ago, but I try not to think about it."

That said, Miyako opened the car door and stepped inside. Tamaki was able to get a quick look at Kenji in the driver's seat before the Porsche started up and drove away.

He watched the expensive car go, not sure how to feel about what had just occurred.

"Waiting for Kenji, huh?" He repeated to himself. "And… ten or eleven years?"

"Hey, boss."

Kaoru appeared in front of Tamaki, gently grasping his shoulder and pulling him back to the waiting limousine.

The blonde stepped into the back when Hunny-senpai opened the door for him. Haruhi got in after him, and held his hand the entire way to the Ootori home. She rested her head against his shoulder, allowing him to rest his own head on top of hers. They listened to the others joke, occasionally throwing in a comment or two. Tamaki even got a laugh when Hoki decided to do his own dramatic interpretation of Hikaru and Kaoru's twincest act (which Elissa immediately yelled at him for, since Naru had asked her to explain what exactly 'twincest' was).

They spent the next few hours at Kyoya's place eating a late dinner, watching a comedy drama on TV, and listening to Tamaki play the piano. The latter had always been soothing to him when under stress, and he found going over all the notes in his head to be good for getting rid of all the negative thoughts, if only temporarily.

That night, they all went to sleep on cots (really beds according to Haruhi) in Kyoya's room. The maids were probably curious about why they weren't using guest rooms, but said nothing. Of course, everyone, aside from the twins, had their own cot. It didn't bother Tamaki in the slightest, just having them there, and knowing they all cared so much for him made him happier than he ever thought he could be.

Tamaki never thought he'd be so blessed to have such wonderful friends and such a wonderful girlfriend he loved more than anything. He couldn't thank the powers that be enough for that.

But no matter how happy and loved he felt, the trauma of what he'd seen and heard couldn't go away so easily. That night, Tamaki experienced nightmares worse than any he'd ever had before. They were all about that darkness, and about those screams, and about a confused and terrified six year old girl crouched in the corner, watching...

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Significantly darker than previous chapters, I know. It's necessary though, I certainly don't like traumatizing Tamaki (really, I don't).**

**Also, in case you've been thinking that there aren't enough TamaHaru moments in this story, don't worry, you'll probably like the next chapter. :)**

**On a side note, I've just found out that Borders is going out of business, and now I'm drepressed. :(**


	6. Ocean Dwelling!

You could not ask Haruhi Fujioka the exact moment she fell in love with Tamaki Suoh, because she didn't know herself. She knew how she realized she was in love with him, but that was about it.

It hadn't made much sense to her at first, the feelings she had. Ever since they first met, Tamaki had been insistent on his 'father-daughter' fantasy, and being more focused on paying off her debt as soon as possible, Haruhi mostly ignored this. She let him go on his tirades of 'fatherly affection,' merely rolling her eyes and going over her mental tally of how many more customers she needed to get in order to get away from these guys forever.

That had been her mindset during the first few weeks she spent in the Ouran Host Club, before she began to bond with the six of them, and come to know them for who they truly were underneath the persona's they wore for the ladies. She also came to see that for all his blundering and childish behavior, Tamaki held an amazing amount of wisdom and understanding of the people around him.

It all came to a head with Tamaki almost leaving with Lady Éclair. Haruhi had meant every word she said to him that day. She loved the Host Club; somehow, she really, truly loved all of them. She loved Hikaru and Kaoru, she loved Kyoya, she loved Hunny and Mori, and of course, she loved Tamaki. It had taken her quite some time to admit that even to herself. It took even longer to realize she loved Tamaki much differently than the others.

It took him almost dying.

Haruhi didn't know exactly when she fell in love with Tamaki, but she did know when she figured out that she did: The moment she saw him lying in that hospital bed, hooked up to big, ugly machines and pale as a ghost. She never wanted to see him like that, never wanted to come so close to losing him ever again.

In the days following Tamaki's brush with the 'Shadows,' as Miyako-senpai referred to them, Haruhi felt like she was losing Tamaki all over again. Though he'd seemed alright after the group's sleepover, he'd been horribly anxious the next day at school, barely speaking to anyone and jumping a foot in the air each time someone addressed him. It got so bad, Kyoya-senpai had suggested canceling club activities for the day. This was vehemently refused by Tamaki, who used his position as Club President to veto Kyoya's suggestion.

Despite the bespectacled boy's worries, Tamaki did fairly well during club hours. He smiled and laughed like nothing was wrong, amazing all his fellow hosts and his girlfriend. It seemed slipping into his role of 'Princely type' allowed him to forget all that was troubling him, if only for a little while. Haruhi knew that wasn't the end of it though.

And lo and behold, he hadn't come to school the next day.

She couldn't say she didn't expect it, and that alone left Haruhi deeply frustrated. He wouldn't talk to her about it. Not yesterday, not one hour ago when she'd tried to call him, Tamaki just kept silent about his trauma. It wasn't right.

This was what led Haruhi to the second Suoh Estate on this day. She paid the cab driver quickly, looking out at the enormous mansion and wondering how this building could be considered small by any stretch of the word. The brunette was still standing there long after the taxi had driven away. Her grip on the school bag she carried tightened, and she realized that in all the time they'd been together and even before that, she'd never once set foot in Tamaki's home.

It was a nice place, she decided, decorated similarly to the Ouran campus. In the bright sun, it appeared refined and cheerful, but Haruhi could derive no happiness from it, she knew too well the sadness currently residing there.

Wasting no more time, Haruhi started for the tightly closed gates and pressed the button on the gold plated intercom. She was greeted by a millisecond of static and then a bored male voice.

"State your name and the nature of your business."

Haruhi blinked, taken aback by the blunt nature of the voice. It was almost robotic, the way this person spoke. Catching herself, Haruhi pressed the button again to speak.

"I'm here to see Tamaki," she said in a strong voice. "Can you tell him Haruhi is here?"

A brief pause.

"I'm sorry," the infliction-less voice answered. "Master Tamaki is indisposed at the moment and can't-"

Another voice, too far away to be audible appeared, distracting the person Haruhi had been talking to. Haruhi waited, her nerves beginning to act up again, until the voice returned.

"Wait, are you the Haruhi?" The voice suddenly took on some emotion, calming Haruhi.

"Of course," was her blunt reply. "How many Haruhis does he know?"

There was no answer, aside from a soft click. Haruhi then jumped back both at the loud creaking and to avoid getting hit as the gate swung open, granting her entrance.

"Shima will be waiting for you at the door, Ms. Fujioka," the voice said through the intercom.

Haruhi didn't bother going to answer, she could barely hear it anyway. All her thoughts had gone back to Tamaki and remained so as she made the long walk up the cobblestone driveway leading to the mansion. She could already see an elderly woman in a kimono standing by the slowly opening double doors, no doubt the 'Shima' she'd been told about. The closer she got, the more clearly she could see the woman's wrinkled face, and the deep seated frown that made the aforementioned wrinkles so much more noticeable.

Shima's eyes remained on Haruhi as the brunette climbed the front steps and stopped before her. She seemed to be studying the young girl, as if trying to decide if Haruhi was worthy or not. After a moment, the old woman let out a sigh and closed her eyes.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Fujioka-san," she said. "Master Tamaki talks about you a great deal."

Haruhi felt a smile tug at her lips. She had a feeling Shima was understating just how much the blonde mentioned her.

"He tells me you are aware of his new 'hobby,' is that true?"

At these words, the air around the two changed dramatically. Haruhi could see Shima's features harden significantly, and she didn't yet know how to handle or respond to it.

"It's true," she confirmed with a tentative nod.

"And you haven't told anyone else?"

'_Ah, so that's it,' _Haruhi thought to herself. Her unease began to fade, the realization of just what Shima was trying to do both relieving and reassuring her of the woman's intentions.

Haruhi stood a little straighter, and answered clearly and confidently.

"I haven't, nor will I. It's not my secret to tell."

The silence that followed was spent with Shima once again studying every inch of the young brunette, as if searching for even the slightest bit of body language that might imply she was lying. Her inspection ended with a curt nod as the old woman turned on a heel and started back into the house.

"Follow me," she called back to Haruhi, who wasted no time in complying.

They entered a room roughly three times bigger than Haruhi's whole apartment from the looks of it. Were she a more starry-eyed girl, Haruhi might've needed a moment to stare in awe. Instead, she silently followed Shima up the lengthy stairway, determination welling up inside her.

"You should know," Shima spoke up. "He hasn't come out of his room all day, and he won't let anyone in."

Haruhi nodded, but was undeterred.

"He'll talk to me," she wasn't sure were this confidence was coming from, but didn't question it. Somehow, she just knew in her heart that she was the one Tamaki needed to talk to right now, and she wasn't the only one.

"Yes, he will," Shima answered.

Not another word was spoken between the older and younger woman, but no more were necessary. Now all that was left was to bring out the person they both loved and cared for deeply.

* * *

><p>Tamaki lay in bed, the covers and his pillow firmly over the side of his head. With the curtains drawn, he had no way of knowing what time it was or ever if the sun was still out. He decided it was better that way, he didn't want to go anywhere today anyway. Hopefully, night would fall soon so he could finally go to sleep and hopefully be nightmare free this time around.<p>

Hopefully, but not likely.

The blonde sighed and pushed the pillow harder into his ear, as if that would drown out the incredibly persistent ghosts who'd been standing over him since he announced to Shima his intentions to stay home today. The fact that he'd immediately gone back to bed afterwards probably didn't help much.

"But you can't just lay here forever," Elissa exasperatedly declared, arms waving dramatically.

"Yeah, kid," Hoki agreed. "The screecher's right for a change. You gotta get out of this funk."

"Leave me alone," Tamaki voice was muffled, but intelligible, and left the two ghosts more aggravated than ever.

"But Mr. Tamaki," Naru-chan piped up. She'd been sitting by the window watching a butterfly the whole time, but it appeared she'd finally gotten bored of it. "Don't you want to see your friends ever again?"

Tamaki said nothing, even though the quiver in Naru's voice was starting to make him want to. He wondered if Hoki and Elissa had somehow put her up to it, as if knowing that he'd have a much harder time ignoring her than them. Tamaki fought the urge to sit up, remaining as perfectly still as he could and shutting his eyes tight.

"Please," he muttered. "I just want some privacy."

"You just want to sulk," Hoki snorted. "Geez, what would your girl say if she saw you?"

KNOCK KNOCK

"Master Tamaki?" Shima voice called out. "Ms. Fujioka is here to see you."

Tamaki could almost hear the grin breaking out on Hoki's face.

"Come in!" The ghost shouted in sing-song.

"Hoki…" Tamaki warned. He was then distracted awy from the foolish ghost by the weight of Shima's words sinking in.

Haruhi.

Haruhi was here?

Tamaki shot up in bed, fumbling with the covers in an effort to get out of bed. At the same time, he desperately tried to fix his messy hair and rumpled pajamas, to little avail. The blonde outright ran to the door, passing Naru and a bewildered buy satisfied Elissa.

He swung open the door, having needed only a second to unlock it. Panting heavily, Tamaki took in the sight of Shima standing beside petite form of his girlfriend. Haruhi was staring up at him, clearly as displeased by his appearance as Shima herself.

"Hello," Tamaki forced himself into his host persona, despite knowing both women present were completely immune to it. "Haruhi, darling, what brings you here?"

The brunette raised an eyebrow as Shima exhaled deeply through her nose.

"I'll just leave you two alone," she said before calmly walking down the hall from whence she came.

Tamaki and Haruhi watched her go before locking eyes once again. A wave of awkwardness followed, heralded by Tamaki's sudden realization that Haruhi was actually in his house. At his bedroom door. While he was in pajamas.

"Are you just going to leave her out there? Invite her in, kid!"

And they weren't even alone.

Tamaki bit his lip, shifting his weight back and forth between each legs while searching for a way to break the silence.

"May I come in?" Leave it to Haruhi to beat him to the punch.

Wordlessly, the blonde nodded, and took a step to the side so she could enter. Tamaki closed the door slowly, the light creaking it made shook him to the core. Haruhi was busy walking around the enormous room, going over every detail from the bed to the dresser to the cushion where Antoinette slept.

Tamaki eyed her, then turned to the ghosts, silently gesturing to the door. Hoki looked ready to complain, but Elissa silenced him and dragged Hoki and Naru out the door into the hall, allowing Tamaki some actual privacy with his girlfriend.

This may not have been the best move in retrospect, because Tamaki felt a new, more intense wave of nerves overtake him. He knew why Haruhi was here, there could be no other reason, and he wasn't sure if he was ready to discuss this with her, or anyone else yet. If she had only seen it… no, no he didn't want that. Tamaki shuddered involuntarily at the thought of Haruhi surrounded by those things. Those Shadows. It was a terrible thought that only made him feel worse and more like he wanted to crawl into bed and never come out.

"Tamaki."

The blonde snapped to attention, driving the awful thoughts from his mind and giving the girl before him his full focus.

"I…" Tamaki felt a weight in his throat. "I'm glad you're here."

Haruhi blinked twice. "Really?"

"Of course!" He forced a grin. "I've been meaning to ask you over someday, you coming on your own is a wonderful treat. So, how about I give you the grand tour?"

The brunette did and said nothing in response to that. Her lips thinned in a way that made Tamaki's false cheer rapidly melt. His face fell again, making Haruhi sigh.

"Tamaki," he didn't like that tone. "Please stop that."

Tamaki suddenly became aware of how very quiet the mansion was. Shouldn't someone be vacuuming or mowing the lawn right now? Why was it so quiet?

"Stop… what?"

"You know what," was her immediate answer. "Don't pretend everything's fine when we all know it isn't."

Tamaki's inside shifted at that. He opened his mouth, but Haruhi raised a hand, signaling that she wasn't finished.

"What are you even doing here? You think just sitting in your room alone is going to make everything better?"

"I'm not alone," Tamaki spoke up defensively. "Hoki, Elissa and Naru are always here."

"And do you talk to them about this?"

A million different responses flooded Tamaki's brain, and not a single one of them was viable or coherent enough to be considered appropriate. Tamaki wound up just standing there in complete silence, which served to prove Haruhi's point more than any of his words could. Haruhi sighed, walking backwards to the table and chairs in the middle of the room and sitting down.

"I wish you would talk to us," she murmured. "Or at least me."

She looked back up at him, eyes pleading.

"I didn't see what you did, I can't imagine what it must've been like, but I want to do whatever I can to help your through this. I love you, and I hate seeing you this way."

Tamaki's heart shattered, both at her words and at the pitiful face she was giving him. The blonde's knees began to shake, he was sure they would have given in if he hadn't plopped down on the foot of the bed at that moment.

"I'm sorry," the words were out of his mouth before he knew it. "I just… I think…"

Haruhi watched him struggle to complete a sentence, her curiosity piqued along with her already intense desire to cheer Tamaki up. The brunette lifted herself up out of the chair and walked over to him, holding out a hand just within his line of sight. When he looked up, Haruhi put on a smile.

"How about we go for a walk?"

* * *

><p>Haruhi wasn't quite sure how what she'd planned to be a simple walk around the block had lead them to the beach. She was more surprised that it appeared to be warm enough for the beach, or at least the boardwalk.<p>

The brunette glanced at her ever silent boyfriend. Tamaki hadn't said a word or even looked at her since they left his house. Wind swept through his hair, leaving it messy again even after he'd combed it, but he barely noticed. Haruhi frowned.

"So," she started. "Is there anything you want to talk about?"

He eyed her for a moment, than dropped them back down to the apparently very interesting sand covered wood. Haruhi pursed her lips, her patience wearing thinner than she would have liked.

"Anything?" She repeated.

Upon getting no answer, Haruhi inwardly sighed. Just as she was trying to figure out something to get his attention, a familiar aroma wafted towards her. Haruhi looked up, a small stand selling bowls of ramen was just a few feet away. Beside her, Tamaki stopped walking, but didn't look up. Even so, Haruhi felt reassured by this action.

"Would you like some?" She asked hopefully.

He lifted his eyes to the stand, examining it briefly, then shrugged. If he was trying to appear disinterested, he was doing a poor job of it, because Haruhi could see a welcome little spark in his eye at the thought of his beloved 'commoner food.'

"I guess I'd like some with chicken, a lot of it," he answered softly.

Though he didn't sound particularly chipper, it was a start and Haruhi was happy for it.

"Okay," she answered. "I'll go get it. I insist."

She added the last part when Tamaki went to object, likely wanting to pay for it himself like he had on their last date. The difference being that their last date had been at an incredibly fancy and expensive restaurant of his choosing and afterwards, Haruhi had made him swear to let her pay for their next date and also never do this again without asking her first.

Though he didn't much like it, Tamaki allowed her to get on line at the ramen stand while he stood back against the wooden railing. The blonde aimlessly stared out at the ocean, pulling his jacket closed as a gust of wind hit him. He wondered what had lead them all the way out here, it wasn't exactly close to his home and nowhere near Haruhi's.

He'd always liked the beaches in Japan, much more than the ones in France. Granted, his impression of Japanese beaches wasn't flawless. He shivered a bit, remembering the time when Haruhi had almost drowned thanks to those two idiots throwing her.

Tamaki clenched his pocketed fists and closed his eyes tight. He opened them immediately when his inner eye was assaulted by images of the Shadows again. Groaning, Tamaki leaned heavier on the wooden posts. No matter what he did, negative thoughts assaulted him. If it wasn't the Shadows, it was all the times he'd almost lost Haruhi or when he left his mother, or pretty much any tragic event in his past forcing itself to the forefront and slowly torturing him into insanity.

It was no wonder he'd come to such a decision. He only hoped Haruhi was more accepting than Miyako had been. His ears were still ringing from their phone conversation earlier.

"Excuse me."

"Huh?" Tamaki turned his head to find a woman standing behind him, smiling pleasantly.

She was older than him and fairly pretty, wearing a light blue sundress and a floppy white beach hat. Her hands were cupped over her stomach, giving her a very innocent look despite her apparent age.

"I don't mean to disturb you," she continued, her voice soft and almost echoing. "But do you have the time?"

Tamaki stood dumbly for a moment before catching himself and raising his watch bearing right arm.

"Why yes, it's 10 after 4," he smiled back at her.

The woman gasped. "10 after 4? Oh dear, I'm late seeing my daughter!"

The woman spun on a heel and broke into a run before Tamaki could even breath. He merely watched her go with growing confusion, even as she shouted a hurried 'thank you' over her shoulder and disappeared into a crowd of people.

Out the corner of his eye, he saw Haruhi coming back over, two steaming cups of ramen in her hands. She silently held on out to him, likely wondering just what he was staring at so intently.

"What is it?" She asked, concentrating on the same spot as her boyfriend now.

Tamaki wordlessly shook his head. "It's nothing, I was just talking to-"

"Mori-senpai."

The blonde raised an eyebrow at the petite girl. "What? No not Mori-senpai. He's not even here."

"No, no, Tamaki," Haruhi grasped his arm with her free hand and set down her cup of ramen so she could point with the other. "There's Mori-senpai, right there!"

Now quite confounded, Tamaki followed Haruhi's finger and came to rest his gaze on an increasingly familiar figure standing out by the waves. Even with his back turned, Tamaki could still recognize the muscular figure and spiky black hair, not the mention the extreme height difference between him and the people passing by.

It was indeed Mori-senpai.

"What is he doing here?" Tamaki wondered aloud.

Haruhi never had a chance to give a theory or even answer at all. Right then, Mori suddenly took off for the water. Tamaki and Haruhi gasped collectively as their upperclassman dove head first into what had to be freezing cold water and waded out to what looked like a buoy that had washed ashore. Only when Mori paddled himself to it and pulled 'it' to him one handedly did they both see a pair of arms shoot out from either side of the buoy and a human face became visible under the soaking mass of red hair.

"Oh my God," Tamaki gasped, running to the beach entrance with Haruhi close behind. They ran with some difficulty through the sand, ignoring the cold front now attacking their sense. Mori-senpai was lifting the girl bridal style out of the water by the time they reached him, and she was being very vibrant for someone who'd just been rescued from drowning.

"Let go, you big jerk! I was just fine out there, let me go!"

Mori-senpai tightened his grip as she struggled harder, and barely seemed surprised when he noticed Tamaki and Haruhi approached. He didn't give them any reaction whatsoever aside from a gesture at Tamaki.

"Could you help me?"

Tamaki started, not expecting Mori to speak first, or at all. Regardless, he held his arms out as Mori-senpai released the girl, gently placing his hands on her rail thin arms.

"Miss, forgive my friend here," his voice was soft and smooth, effectively calming her down, if only a little. "He was concerned about your decision to go for a swim when the water is so cold.

"It wasn't that b-bad," was the girl's pathetic argument, weakened even further by the way she shivered and wrapped her arms tight around her waist. "And I didn't ask for his help."

Mori looked away at that.

"That still doesn't explain what you were doing in the first place," Haruhi entered the conversation.

The girl stared at her. "Isn't it obvious? I was going for a swim. What's so weird about that?"

Both Tamaki and Haruhi started to answer, but the girl didn't give them a chance. She wrenched her arm free of Tamaki's grip and started to walk away, only for Mori to grasp her arm in his place. The girl stopped short and tried to pull away, but Mori only gazed at her with sad eyes.

"Please don't do this again," his voice reverberated in a way that made one forget that he barely used it. "You could get hurt."

"Excuse me?" The girl cried, offended. "I'm a champion swimmer, I think I know what I'm doing!"

With a hard tug, she pulled away from Mori as well. The tall young man was left clenching his fingers around air and looking sadder than ever.

"Look, thanks for the concern, but I don't need it," the girl said harshly.

Having gotten the final word, the girl stormed over to a carelessly placed beach blanket and gathered it, along with her cast aside jeans and t-shirt, and continued her tred to the boardwalk. Tamaki watched her go, while Haruhi's focus remained on Mori-senpai, who had not once taken his eyes off that girl.

"Mori-senpai," Haruhi started, her curiosity embedded deep into her words. "Who was that girl?"

Truthfully, Haruhi have expected Mori-senpai to only grunt in response and then walk away. It was a more 'Mori' thing for him to do than the talkative nature he'd suddenly adopted.

"Her name is Kazue."

Haruhi blinked, a small sound releasing from her throat. The waves crashed beside them, and water raced between her toes, but she ignored it and held her zipped up jacket tight around her.

"She comes here every day," he continued. "She and her mom were swimmers. Her mom fell off a cruise ship last summer and drowned. She's been coming here every day ever since, but she hasn't tried to go out in the water until today."

"How do you know here?" Tamaki asked. "Does she go to school with us?"

Mori shook his head, once again gazing at where Kazue once stood. The look in his eyes lost on Haruhi, but apparently not on Tamaki, who immediately pulled his girlfriend aside.

"Haruhi, I think Mori-senpai may have a crush on that girl."

The brunette blinked and brought a hand to her head. The idea of Mori-senpai, whom until today she was sure was incapable of stringing more than ten words together and never showed affection deeper than a pat on the head to anyone that wasn't Hunny-senpai… had a crush.

"It's a pretty odd concept," she muttered thoughtfully. Silence reigned for another few seconds, giving Haruhi just enough time to have a sudden revelation. "Wait, her mother died?"

Mori glanced at her and gave a curt nod, as if not understanding where she was going with this.

"Does that mean that, maybe, she's still around?"

This question was posed to Tamaki, even though Haruhi still wasn't looking at him. Instantly, the earlier fears that plagued the blonde came flooding back and his gaze was frozen on Haruhi, who was finally facing him. The couple stared at each other, one with expectance and one with fear. Tamaki bit his lip, knowing that it was time he told her the truth, even if they weren't alone, she had to know now.

"It's possible," he answered honestly. "But I wouldn't be able to find her, she'd have to come to me. I doubt I'd have anything to say to her even if she did."

Haruhi tilted her head to one side.

"Why not?" She asked, bringing a finger to her chin.

Now Tamaki had to look away. Did she even know how impossibly adorable she looked when she did that? He couldn't deny that face anything, and staring at it for too long might actually break his iron clad resolve. He simply couldn't have that.

Taking a deep breath, Tamaki stared hard at the water beaten sand.

"Because I quit."

The silence that followed was about as bad as the day he first revealed his powers to the Host Club. The only differences were the presence of less people and the crashing waves defying any concept of silence.

"…what?" Haruhi wasn't sure she'd heard that right.

This time, Tamaki looked up, and to his relief she'd dropped both her finger and her curious face. The one she wore now however, wasn't much of an improvement.

"I said 'I quit,'" Tamaki answered with a hardness he had to fight to keep in his voice. "I can't do this anymore. This ghost talking thing, I'm just not cut out for it. I'll let Hoki, Elissa and Naru-chan hang around, but I won't talk to any other ghosts. I just… I can't stop seeing those things and hearing those screams. I… I'm not strong enough for this.

"So, I'm quitting. I already told Miyako, and she wasn't happy, but I've made up my mind, I won't change it. I'm not going to talk to ghosts anymore."

Whatever reaction Haruhi, or Mori-senpai for that matter had, Tamaki had no way of knowing. In the middle of his speech, he'd turned around and begun walking away. He couldn't face Haruhi right now, couldn't let her see his shame. He walked along the coast, jacket swaying in the wind at his heels, and felt close to tears yet again, both from sadness and shame at his own weakness.

Up on the boardwalk overlooking the beach, the woman in the blue sundress watched the blonde leave his friends behind, frowning sadly.

* * *

><p>Tamaki came to school the next day.<p>

He strutted down the hall with all the pride and dignity one would expect of the Principal's son. Perputually smiling, he greet everyone with great cheer and liveiness, while his secret girlfriend watched quietly from a distance, her own temperament dark enough to create rain clouds over her head.

It was worse during club hours, when he was entertaining guests as if he didn't have a care in the world, and Haruhi could hardly watch simply because of how fake it was. There was no way even Tamaki could go from completely miserable to perfectly fine in only a day. Yesterday had resolved nothing, much as it pained her to admit, and now things just seemed to be going downhill fast.

Even worse, Haruhi had no idea how to find Miyako-senpai and find out how she really felt about this. Knowing her, she probably wasn't happy, but would pretend she didn't care and try to avoid the issue. Sort of like Tamaki himself. As the hours wore on, Haruhi slowly became aware that she wasn't the only one not particularly happy with Tamaki's sudden 'liveliness.'

"What do you mean he quit?" Hikaru demanded after the last guest departed. "How do you quit seeing ghosts?"

"Tama-chan can't just close his eyes all the time, right?" Hunny-senpai asked, eye wide like he was about to cry.

Haruhi bit her lip and looked down at her laced fingers. The group, minus Tamaki, sat huddled over the small table Haruhi entertained at, listening to her recount of yesterday's events and trying to figure out their next more. Haruhi let her head fall back over the couch, gazing up at the tiled ceiling but not really seeing it.

"I don't know,' she answered with little hope. "What he saw really got to him. Maybe it would be best for him to avoid all this for a while."

"How?" Kaoru snorted. "He's said it himself, they come to him. What is he going to do? Run away every time one comes around?"

"He can't," Kyoya agreed, scribbling something into his notebook. "He's scared right now, but running won't help him."

Haruhi sighed. "I just wish he'd talk to someone. _Really_ talk, no avoiding the issue."

Everyone either nodded or murmured in agreement, and Hunny-senpai looked close to tears. They all hated seeing Tamaki like this, either sad or falsely happy, it just wasn't right. A door slammed shut, bringing them all to attention as the object of their thoughts started towards them.

"Hey guys," Tamaki addressed them with a wave. "What's everyone talking about?"

The blonde waked over and sat down beside Haruhi, casually wrapping an arm around her and holding her close. Haruhi blushed, both from the contact and the sight of everyone's eyes on her. She knew right away that she was the one they expected to give the first word. Damn unhelpful rich people.

"Tamaki," Haruhi began, smiling nervously. "We've been meaning to talk to you."

"Hmmm," Tamaki distractedly answered, tightening his grip."

Haruhi coughed. "See, we-"

"I have to go."

The atmosphere broke completely. Haruhi felt like groaning at the interruption, but no one would have noticed if she had since they were all busy staring at the speaker. Mori-senpai, predictably, had nothing more to say, walking out of the room with all the stoic attitude he was famous for. Not even Hunny-senpai knew what to make of this.

"Well, that was weird," Hikaru remarked as the door shut with a click. "Where's he going, Hunny-senpai?"

Clutching Usa-chan to his chest, the short blonde shook his head sadly.

"I don't know," he answered. "Probably to the beach again. He's been going a lot lately."

This got Tamaki and Haruhi's attention instantly.

"The beach?" Haruhi repeated. "He must be looking for that girl again. Kazue!"

"I still can't believe Mori would be into someone," Hikaru muttered.

"It does come as a surprise," Kyoya answered, going back to his writing. "Then again, he has been interested in her since the interschool sports competition six months ago. Her school attended and she won 1st prize in all the swimming related categories."

The rest of the club collectively sweat dropped.

"And of course _you_ knew about that," Haruhi commented.

"So what now?" Hunny-senpai piped up. "Should we follow him?"

"It would be an invasion of Mori-senpai's privacy," Haruhi told him in a gentle but firm way.

"But what if Kazue-san tries to go in the water again?" Tamaki argued, amazing everyone for the hundredth time with his uncanny ability to switch from innocent to serious in a split second. "Mori-senpai must have a good reason for not wanting her to."

"She's a champion swimmer," Kaoru reminded him.

"She didn't look like she was swimming yesterday," Haruhi shook her head. "Now that I think about it, before Mori-senpai grabbed her, she was just… floating there. We didn't even realize she was a person until she started moving."

"Maybe he thought she was drowning," Hunny suggested with a whimper.

Tamaki exhaled and stood up, unwrapping his arms from Haruhi in the process.

"Well, only one way to find out," he announced. "Let's go lady and gentlemen!"

Hunny followed immediately, the others needing a few moments to process everything before picking up their things and starting after their 'fearless leader,' who was still going on about making Mori-senpai's love a reality and so on and so forth.

Haruhi was the last to leave, her mind still wandering on yesterday's events and hoping that this wasn't a bad idea. Another idea came to the forefront, one she spoke aloud without even realizing until it was too late.

"Maybe Kazue-san's mother will be there."

Everything froze. Well, Tamaki did anyway.

The blonde became rigid and the air around him grew cold. Haruhi felt cold regret gripping her heart, figuratively berating her for the poor choice of words. Everyone else had stopped as well, though more because of Tamaki himself not moving. The five waited anxiously for Tamaki to say something, and felt somewhat chilled by the flat response he gave.

"No, she won't."

And then he started walking again, faster than before. Haruhi remained still even after the others left as well, her eyes were locked on the retreating from of Tamaki Suoh and everything else drowned out.

'_He really means it,' _her mind was saying. _'He's serious about quitting.'_

Haruhi's feet began to move, unconsciously driven on by the knowledge that the others would soon notice she wasn't with them. Her face fell and set into a frown.

'_Tamaki…'_

* * *

><p>Tamaki made a mental note to bring two cars to the Host Club's next big stake out after being elbowed in the face one to many times by either Hikaru or Kaoru as the devilish twin tried to get in a better position to look out. Shoving him away again, the blonde pressed his nose against the cool glass, watching Mori sit cross legged several feet away from the hair of blonde hair is recognized as Kazue.<p>

The girl hadn't moved a muscle, not even her head. Mori, for his part, remained equally still, though unlike Kazue who appeared to be looking straight ahead, Mori's eyes were firmly on her. Tamaki smiled a bit in spite of himself. At his heart, he was a romantic, and seeing his quiet upperclassman so enamored with a young lady made him feel warm and fuzzy inside, like when he was a child trying to make his mother's hairdresser admit her love for the baker next store.

Unlike that instance (the last he heard, the hairdresser and the baker were expecting their second child), Tamaki didn't think Kazue would be as easy to win over. In fact, when she finally snapped and stood up, he could tell even from so far away that she was enraged. Stomping over to the tall young man, she began yelling something that didn't affect Mori in the slightest. Not visibly anyway.

"She's kind of mean," Hunny-senpai commented.

"Reminds me of Miyako-senpai," Hikaru snorted, earning a glare from Tamaki.

Haruhi, meanwhile, had to nod in agreement. "He's right. Hunny-senpai, that is."

"She likely considers what Mori-senpai is doing to be stalking," Kyoya observed, analytical as if he were examining a science project. "Has he been doing this often, Hunny-senpai?"

The smaller boy hesitated, absently patting down Usa-chan's fur, then shook his head slowly.

"He's admired Kazue-chan for a while," Hunny explained. "Sort of like how you'd admire an idol or something. He only met her personally about a week ago and he's been going to the beach ever since. He won't tell me why or what happened when they spoke."

"She must've said something he didn't like," Haruhi deduced.

Outside, the group watched as Kazue stood straight again, stomping her foot into the ground and shaking a finger in Mori's face, almost poking him in the eye. Then she turned on a heel and started for the boardwalk.

"I think he said something she didn't like," said Hikaru.

"She's coming this way," Tamaki panicked. "Everyone hide!"

Tamaki ducked down to the floor, taking the two on either side of him (Haruhi and Hikaru) with him. Both reacted with annoyance, and the latter got back up the second Tamaki let go of his head. The two who stayed down could only listen as the others commentated.

"Hey, is he going after her?" Hikaru asked.

"I think so," responded Kaoru.

"Takashi, go!" Hunny cheered his cousin on.

"He's got her, and they're talking again," Kyoya muttered with disinterest. "I think she's calming down."

This got Tamaki's attention and, somewhat against his better judgement, he lifted himself off the floor of the car and look out. His eyes focused on Mori, standing before Kazue whose face was still red from anger but appeared to be getting better. She slumped a bit, losing the indignant way she carried herself like it had never even been there.

Her shoulders sagged, and she finished off by sitting down in the sand, her knees pulled up to her body. Mori followed suit, remaining quiet as ever, if his lack of mouth movements were any indication.

"So what's going on now?" Asked Hunny.

"I guessed they're talking," Haruhi answered as she straightened the lining of her jacket. "What do you think, Tamaki?"

The blonde only just heard Haruhi's words and nodded absently, earning a peculiar look from his girlfriend.

"Tamaki, are you listening?"

No, he wasn't. His continued silence was proof enough of that. Without warning, the blonde's hand went to the door handle and he pushed it open slowly amid whispers and questions from his friends.

"Wait here," he told them. "I want to get a closer look."

He closed the door behind him, surprised yet relieved that nobody followed him. Of course, this was likely just because they didn't want the potential of drawing attention to themselves to get any higher. He'd likely get an earful for breaking this cardinal rule of stake outs later.

He didn't care, and he had no idea why. The urge to hear whatever it was Mori and Kazue (well, Kazue anyway) were saying overwhelmed him so fast it made his head spin. Tamaki took an anxious step closer, a female voice just barely reaching his ears at this point. The more forward he moved, the louder it got, until he could finally hear Kazue clearly.

"…I've been swimming my whole life. Mom taught me when I was three years old. I was kind of scared at first, I didn't like the way my feet couldn't touch the ground and holding my breath for so long made me uncomfortable, but Mom wouldn't hear any of it. She'd always say to me, 'Kazue, if you let a little thing like fear stop you, you'll never get anywhere in life.'

"She told me that every single time I complained, until one day I decided to stop complaining and really try to swim."

Kazue stopped to chuckle sadly.

"By the next day, I was swimming the length of the kiddy pool like it was second nature. I never knew how much I loved the water until I got over being afraid of it.

"Things went great after that. I joined the swim team in Middle School and won my first big event, then I won the next and the next and… well, you get the point. About a year ago, my coach started making these little suggestions that I go to the Olympics someday. You can imagine how Mom felt about that.

"She uh… she drowned a week later. She was on a singles cruise, can you believe that? Anyway, she had a bit too much to drink and fell asleep on a deck chair. Something went wrong with the ship's navigation system, the cops said. They wound up getting stuck on rocks and the shockwave of the collision sent her overboard. They said it was a miracle that they even recovered the body."

Kazue paused, as if expecting Mori to say something in response, or anything at all really. All she got was a look that clearly said exactly what Tamaki was thinking at the moment.

_'Go on.'_

Another second passed.

"Even since she died… all those fears started coming back. It's weird, I can swim just fine in indoor pools and even lakes, but the ocean terrifies me now. It sucks because the ocean was, is, my favorite place to swim.

"I know it was stupid to go out in the water when it's so cold. My aunt sure gave me an earful when I got home last night, but I've been standing on the shore for so long, scared to even let the water touch me… I just felt like if I didn't do something soon, I'd never get over my fears, and I know Mom would never approve of that."

Her speech ended, at least Tamaki believed it had. What she'd said was enough as it was, her words had hit closer to home than he cared to admit and his previous set in stone thoughts were uprooting and becoming frazzled and messy.

Had he really made the right choice?

A sigh from behind him sent Tamaki whirling around as he stifled a yelp. It took a moment for him to take in the woman before him, one he soon remember as the woman in the blue sundress who'd asked him for the time yesterday.

It helped that she was still dressed the same for whatever reason.

"Oh, Kazue-chan," the woman's eyes looked past Tamaki at the scene below. "Don't worry, honey, I'm not mad it you."

Tamaki blinked. "Wait, you know her?"

The woman looked at him, giggling as if he'd just told a joke. "Don't be silly, of course I know my own daughter."

That needed a moment to sink in, and when it did, Tamaki's jaw went down. "You're Kazue's mother? But that means you're… this whole time?"

The woman smiled, and as if the heavens themselves were reading his mind, the now familiar white light rained down on them, bathing the sundress wearing woman and pulling her to it.

"I'll admit, I was surprised that you could see me," she said cheerily. "I mostly just spoke to you yesterday as a fluke. No one ever answered me before, you have an amazing gift. You know that, right?"

Tamaki could only nod, no words able to come out of his closed off throat.

"That's good," she answered. "You remind me of my Kazue. I've been watching her all this time and I'm glad she's finally talking to someone, she's never been the most open person in the world."

The woman started to fade into the light, but she still had more to say.

"Do me a favor, tell that friend of yours 'thank you' and keep on using that gift of yours. You can do so much good with it! And tell Kazue I'm proud of her!"

And with that, Kazue's mother vanished, the light carrying her to paradise. Tamaki stood rigid, his mind going a mile a minute. Slowly but steadily, his thoughts went back into order and he felt as if he'd been slapped in the face by reason after days of living in delusion. A smile formed on his lips, the first real one he'd worn in days.

Taking a deep breath, Tamaki turned around marched over to Mori and Kazue. Without waiting, the blonde climbed down the steps, getting their attention immediately.

"Hey," Kazue pointed at him. "Didn't I see you here yesterday?"

Tamaki's smiled grew, making Kazue retract her hand and blush a tiny bit.

"Yes, forgive me for the intrusion. I was just passing by and heard you talking. It's quite a story you told my friend here, Kazue-san."

Kazue's eyebrow went up, and she looked ready to get angry again until Tamaki sat down and took her hand in his.

"You may not know this, but you, me and Mori here are, for lack of a better term, in the same boat."

At this, Kazue became curious.

"We've all been crippled by our fears as of late, believing that if we ran or avoided them, things would get better on their own. You're braver than you know, Kazue-san, because out of all of us, you're the only one whose found the strength on your own to face your fears."

Tamaki looked away from her briefly at Mori-senpai, making sure he was listening just as closely as Kazue. This next part was very important, after all.

"I'd like you to give some of that strength Mori and I here. Let's all three of us make a promise: We'll keep moving forward and meet our fears head on. No matter what, we won't give up."

Kazue's mouth opened slowly, and Mori-senpai could only stare at Tamaki intently. He understood what Tamaki was saying, much moreso that Kazue did. It was a long time before the girl's hand clenched around Tamaki's. Slowly she gave a nod.

"Okay," her voice cracked, like she was about to cry. Tamaki had a feeling that his next words would send her over.

"Your mother is proud of you," he told her firmly. "I'm sure of it."

Kazue's lips tightened, but she didn't cry. Instead, she stood up, gazing down at the two young man with a warm smile on her face.

"Can you wait here?" She appeared to be addressing them both. "I need to make a phone call."

She left without waiting for a response, pulling her phone from her pants pocket as she went. Now alone, Tamaki turned to Mori, his smile breaking into a grin. The stoic young man didn't acknowledge him until Tamaki began to speak.

"I didn't just mean that in terms of your fear of ghosts," the blonde told him. "You shouldn't keep things like love bottled up or it may kill you!"

Mori just looked at him.

"What I mean is that you should go for it. Go talk to her!"

Tamaki gestured at Kazue, making it clear as possible what he wanted Mori to do. Though it appeared at first like Mori wouldn't listen, the upperclassmen drew himself to full height, walking with his shoulder stiff and broad to the swimmer. Tamaki followed a few steps behind, excited to watch a budding romance unfold.

"Okay," he heard Kazue say into her phone. "I love you too, bye!"

Clicking it off, the girl turned and craned her head up to smile wide at Mori-senpai.

"Oh, sorry about that," she apologized. "I just needed to call my boyfriend. He lives in New York and I'm going to be moving there in a month to attend school with him. The school has one of the best international swim teams out there, and I'd have a greater chance of getting into the Olympics than I probably would here."

Kazue rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly.

"I'd been thinking about not going," she admitted. "But I think I can do it now. You and your friend have helped me a lot. Thank you for listening to me, Mori, was it?

"Well anyway, you've been a great friend. I'm sure my boyfriend will be grateful too, he's always going on about how much he misses me and wants me to come abroad."

Kazue laughed happily.

Tamaki heard absolutely none of this as he'd fainted dead away the very moment the word 'boyfriend' escaped Kazue's lips.

By the time he woke up, the swimmer had bid her final farewell and went home to pack. Mori was completely still… at least until his head dropped and his knees gave way and he fell onto his hand in humiliation and shame.

Tamaki shot up and zoomed to Mori's side, trying desperately to hide his own dissappointment in this turn of events.

"Don't worry, Mori-senpai," he said much too loudly. "This may not have worked out, but you'll find someone else. There's lot of fish in the sea!"

Mori's head burrowed into the sand.

"Oh," Tamaki's stomach dropped further. "That wasn't the best analogy, was it?"

* * *

><p>Tamaki had Toshiro drive Hunny and Mori home first. After Tamaki brought them up to speed, they'd all tried their best to cheer the silent one up seemingly to no avail. Hunny had to practically pull Mori out of the car and promised that he'd give 'Takashi' as many cakes as necessary in order to cheer him up.<p>

Nobody bothered to inform him that it probably wouldn't help much.

One by one, everyone was driven home, until the only two left where Tamaki himself and the person he wanted to have a private chat with most of all.

"I've changed my mind about quitting," he told her.

Haruhi nodded, a smile forming that made him just want to hug her forever.

"I know," she answered. "I'm glad. I'm sure Hoki, Elissa and Naru-chan will be too."

Tamaki nodded, but then began to shudder.

"I'm more worried about how Miyako will take this," he whispered loudly. "She wasn't happy when I told her I was quitting."

Haruhi rolled her eyes, but maintained the smile. "Relax, she'll get over it."

Tamaki stilled, her reassuring words calming him down enough to come back to rational thought, and back to what he'd been meaning to tell her.

"After I've spoken to her, I'll call you," he explained. "There's a lot I want to talk about."

The blonde took his girlfriend's hands in his, gazing deep into her beautiful brown eyes.

"I won't keep anything from you anymore."

Haruhi gasped softly and blinked her eyes a few times. "Everyone has secrets."

"Not me," Tamaki shook his head. "Not from you."

He pulled her in before she could even think to respond, and all thoughts died as soon as his lips were on hers. For the rest of her life, Haruhi would never figure out why Tamaki's kisses had this effect on her, and eventually, she just stopped caring. His hands removed themselves from hers so he could wrap his strong arms around her. Somewhere in the midst of their moment, Haruhi's mouth came open, leading to a battle for control that neither of them had time to win before Toshiro honked the horn and signaled that they'd arrived at the apartment complex.

Tamaki gave a low growl. Why couldn't there have been a traffic jam or something? Haruhi sighed, clearly no happier about the interruption as he was.

"I'll wait for your call," she said before giving him a second, far more chaste kiss. "I love you."

"Love you too," Tamaki answered, watching her step out of the car with a longing he didn't even know he possessed.

* * *

><p>Haruhi waited for the limousine to disappear from sight, a habit she'd picked up from every time Tamaki or one of the others drove her home. Unless it was Tamaki (and even then it was arguable), she honestly prefer taking the train, if only for familiarity's sake.<p>

The brunette smiled a second time, good feelings welling up inside her. She hoped Miyako-senpai wasn't too hard on Tamaki tomorrow, because she had a good feeling the female medium would be stopping by again for another visit. It was good, it had become a routine that Haruhi didn't want to see break.

Slowly but surely, Tamaki was healing, and she'd be there to help him along the way no matter how silly his antics became. She truly loved his antics anyway.

Haruhi remained in high spirits from when she approached the staircase, to when she took the first step, to when a hand shot out of the bushes and pulled her down. The deeply startled girl yelped, but it was cut short by a hand clamping over her mouth.

"Be quiet," a somewhat familiar voice hissed in her ear. "I'm not trying to hurt you."

Whoever it was let go and Haruhi stumbled back. She was ready to give the 'attacker' a good verbal thrashing when she suddenly recognized who it was, and shock began to course through her.

"You… what are _you_ doing here?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: As you may have figured out by now, this story takes on an episodic format. I've been wanting to do something like this for a long time now, and I think I've been doing pretty good so far. I had no idea I was capable of writing chapters this LONG though... O.O**

**Anyway, the reason I bring this up is because we've concluded the first story arc, that being Tamaki getting used to his powers and coming to terms with both the positive and negative. He's got a long way to go, but with a support system like the Host Club, I think he'll be alright.**

**So in regards to this chapter, who do you think the mystery person at the end is? Any guesses? Any at all? I bet you'll never gue-ess! XD**


	7. Love's Daisies!

Haruhi wasn't really sure what to make of this. Not one little bit.

Since going to Ouran, she'd dealt with enough over-excited rich people randomly grabbing and dragging her into this or that crazy scheme that the novelty had pretty much worn off. Still, she needed a moment to get a good look at her 'visitor' in order to determine that it wasn't a robber or a rapist.

Once she'd done that, it barely took a second for recognition to set it, along with exasperation and dread that this girl's appearance heralded yet another kidnapping by her club's favorite rivals. Haruhi's head darted side to side, her eyes scanning the area for signs of the other two members. This didn't go unnoticed.

"Benibara and Chizuru aren't here," Hinako shook her head. "This isn't club business, it's… personal."

Haruhi furrowed her brow, she had no idea how to answer that.

"What…" she struggled. "What do you-"

"I need you to buy me an Ouran uniform."

Haruhi did a double take, the numerous theories on what a member of the Zuka Club could be doing here alone fizzled out and died. None of them even came close to that anyway. This did nothing to ease Haruhi's speechlessness. At this point she could do nothing but stand there gaping while Hinako went for her purse and started digging through it.

Hinako bit her lip, mumbling something under her breath before pulling a white envelope from the depths of the tiny bag. She proceeded to shove the envelope into the unprepared Haruhi's chest.

"In there is the money and my sizes," Hinako explained in a business-like way, ignoring Haruhi's yelp as the force caused her to stumble back. "I'm not that big so they should have something in storage that'll fit. If not, just take whatever comes closest. Have it for me by tomorrow when your last class lets out. I'll be waiting outside the building, so don't be late."

Hinako turned and began to walk away, not even waiting one second for Haruhi to open her mouth. The brunette just watched her go, her mind a mess of confusion only made worse when the Zuka Club girl suddenly whirled around.

"And one more thing," she sent Haruhi a bone-chilling glare. "Do not tell _anyone_ about this. Especially not your stupid Host Club."

* * *

><p>Hinako disappeared into the shadows with that final, vaguely threatening, word. The only evidence that she'd been there being the envelope in Haruhi's hand and the long, white limousine that tore around the corner a few seconds later.<p>

Haruhi stood at the foot of her locker the next morning, examining it's size and width while tapping her fingers against the flat white box she was doing nothing to hide from passing students.

Getting the uniform had been easier than she thought. The woman in charge didn't seem to notice Haruhi's male uniform and gave her the female one with no trouble, accepting Haruhi's story about needing a spare one for a friend who was out sick. All she had to do now was get the thing in her locker and keep quiet about it for the rest of the day. Hopefully, Tamaki or the twins wouldn't find out, or worse…

"Good morning, Haruhi."

The brunette whirled around, clutching the box to her chest tight enough to bend it. Looking into Kyoya-senpai's accusing eyes, she decided it would have been a better idea to hide it behind her back or something. Not that he wouldn't have seen it eventually. Already, her senpai's gray eyes were boring into the box, she wouldn't be surprised if he could actually see through it.

"You've been running some errands today, correct?"

Haruhi blinked, her stupor broken by the uncharacteristic cheerfulness Kyoya spoke with. She frowned, now more than ever on guard.

"Errands, Kyoya-senpai?"

He nodded. "I noticed you leaving the School Store with that rather suspiciously shaped box. The storekeeper informed me that you had a sick friend you needed to buy a uniform for. And a girl's uniform at that."

His smile, ever present the entire time he was speaking, took on a dark vibe. Haruhi stood her ground, determined not to let the Shadow King get the best of her. She breathed in, confident that she could give him an acceptable lie and not have to divulge Hinako's secret. It wasn't like he knew the Zuka Club member had approached her last night.

"I wouldn't really care," the bespectacled boy went on. "But I received an interesting call from your father last night. He was wondering why a girl from St. Lobelia was talking to you outside your apartment last night."

Haruhi felt like melting into the floor, but not before going home and giving her father a stern talking to. At least now she understood why he'd been so tense and nervous when she first walked inside last night.

Kyoya, already taller than Haruhi by a wide margin, loomed over her like a dark shadow, making her feel as if she was shrinking. Haruhi shook her head, coming back to herself and sighing in defeat. No matter which way she sliced it, Kyoya-senpai would get the truth out of her. Stupid, nosy rich people…

"Well, it started like this," Haruhi began.

* * *

><p>"And that's about it," Haruhi finished some time later in the club room.<p>

Hikaru and Kaoru, sitting on the couch across from her, had identical grave expressions one who expect to see on hardened, war torn soldiers about to go into another battle.

"So, that Zuka Club is starting something again," the older twin muttered angrily.

"What kind of plan do they have that would require one of our uniforms?" Kaoru wondered aloud.

"Maybe Hina-chan has turned good and wants to come to our school instead of scary Lobelia, right Takashi?"

Hunny and the twins all turned to Mori, who was slouching over the end table in a cloud of depression, as he had been every day since Kazue left. The tallest host said nothing, not even his beloved cousin could bring up his spirits, it seemed.

As it was, neither Hikaru nor Kaoru were willing to put any weight into their senpai's overly idealistic theory.

"Maybe they want it for one of their crazy shows," Kaoru muttered to his brother. "Some kind of Anti-Ouran thing."

Hikaru nodded, beads of sweat beginning to form on his forehead. "If that's it, I don't even want to know what they'd do with it."

The tense, dramatic atmosphere was broken with the scratching of a pen and the sigh of the person holding it.

"May I ask you two not to form silly, baseless ideas," Kyoya all but glared at the redheaded twins. "We really don't need anyone else doing that."

His glass covered eyes moved to the frantic form of Tamaki Suoh, pacing back and forth, pale as a sheet and muttering unintelligibly to himself. Every now and then, he'd stop to yell something at one of the ghosts, then start up again like nothing had happened. Kyoya had never been more happy to let the Host Club have a day off from customers.

"It's some kind of trick," the Host King hissed under his breath. "They're planning something. Something big. Something awful. They're trying to take Haruhi again, lull her away from the club and her friends and me. Use their evil mind games on her, that's how it is…"

Tamaki was completely oblivious to everything that wasn't part of his fantasy world. He didn't even notice that the girl he was so desperately trying to keep safe from the horrors of the Zuka Club had her face in her hand and was groaning at his idiotic behavior.

"How does he get all this from a simple uniform," she thought aloud.

This turned out to be something of a mistake. Her voice, soft as it was, somehow broke through the thick wall of Tamaki's overwhelming fear. He stopped dead in his tracks and his body tensed. The next thing anyone knew, Haruhi was yelping in surprise as Tamaki, having all but teleported across the wide room, pulled her into his arms and brought his face so close to hers that their noses touched.

"Don't be afraid, my beloved!" Tamaki cried, literal tears streaming down his cheeks. "I promise on my honor as your boyfriend and a man, I will not let those awful Zuka Club girls kidnap you and take you into their world of evil! I SWEAR I WON'T LET YOU DOWN!"

"I kind of wish you would," Haruhi muttered, eyeing the tiled floor roughly a foot below her.

Tamaki hugged her close, pressing a kiss onto her lips before setting her back down. Switching into 'leader' mode, the blonde slammed his open palm down on the table, bringing everyone (except Mori) to full attention.

"Alright men, we need a plan for how to deal with this situation," Tamaki commanded.

Hikaru and Kaoru straightened up in their seats, looking not unlike a pair of soldiers before their commanding officer. No one else shared their enthusiasm.

"First, we'll need to find a place to hide while Haruhi is giving the uniform to Ms. Tsuwabuki," Tamaki drew the battle plans out on a chalkboard he pulled out of nowhere. Two crude stick figures likely meant to represent Haruhi and Hinako were drawn beside wavy lines with several more stick figures on the other side. "There are some large bushes in that area, it should serve as a proper-"

"Wait a minute," Haruhi shoot up and snatched the chalk from her boyfriend, setting it down and scowling. "You can't seriously expect me to let you guys spy on my meeting with her!"

"What are you talking about?" Hikaru gave her a disbelieving look. "Of course we are!"

"We need to be there in case they try to abduct you again, Haru-chan," Hunny-senpai jumped into Haruhi's line of sight, Usa-chan ever in his arms.

The brunette sighed, not an uncommon occurrence when dealing with the host club's fanatical desire to protect her from the 'horrendous' threats to her life.

"Look, I know you guys are concerned, but you don't have to be," Haruhi attempted to appease them. "All Hinako-san wants is the uniform, it doesn't matter what she wants it for. You really don't need to follow me."

* * *

><p>'<em>I can't believe these idiots followed me.'<em>

Haruhi stood scowling under a large tree in front of the massive main building. Clouds of smoke seemed to hover over the girl's head, metaphors for the intense frustration she was feeling right now. This was augmented by the very obvious sight of Tamaki's blonde hair and Mori-senpai's entire head sticking out of the perfectly manicured bushed not two feet away. While they couldn't be seen, the others made their presence known perfectly well.

"Hunny-senpai, watch my foot!" Hikaru's pathetic attempt at whispering was followed by a rustling of leaves as the oldest host moved away from him.

"Sorry, Hika-chan!"

"Don't raise your voice."

"Oh, sorry- _sorry, Takashi_."

'_Why me?' _Haruhi's mind groaned.

The box containing the uniform rested carefully under her arm, the edges gently pushing into the clothed skin enough to be noticeable, but not enough to hurt. She tried to keep her eyes on the crowd of home bound students, in search of the auburn bob cut that was Hinako's. So far, the girl hadn't arrived, meaning Haruhi was stuck listening to the Host Club (minus Kyoya, who'd mysteriously vanished just before they were about to leave) completely fail at being inconspicuous.

"You need to be quiet," Tamaki _loudly _scolded the twins. "Or do you want to get caught?"

"I don't know, you tell us, boss," the twins replied flatly.

Tamaki shushed them, getting up on tiptoes so he could look over the edge of the shrubbery at the tall, proud tree.

"Oh my!" This time, his voice was deliberately loud, getting awkward stares from passing students. "What a lovely tree, I wish I could climb it! You can probably see everything from those branches!"

There was a pause, then Tamaki shot back into hiding, pulling the other four hosts into a huddle.

"Hoki says he doesn't see her yet," he whispered to them.

"What about Elissa and Naru-chan," asked Kaoru.

"They're not in the tree," Tamaki said, shaking his head. "Elissa didn't want to touch the bark and Naru's scared of heights. They're over by Haruhi and they don't see anything either."

"I doubt any of us will see anything from here," Hikaru remarked, snapping a lose piece of twig off the otherwise perfectly trimmed bush.

"That's not the point," Tamaki glared at the older twin and pulled his hand out of view. "We can't let Hinako see us when she does get here. That was the plan remember?"

Hikaru mumbled something back disinterestedly, but Tamaki was still satisfied with it.

"Don't worry, men," the blonde said, going back into 'leader' mode. "We're invisible as long as we stay in these bushes."

"Ahem."

Tamaki froze first, then he whirled around to see what everyone else had already spotted. Miyako, hands crossed over her chest, shooting a bored look at Tamaki from the wide open space between the bushes and the wall. She eyed the rest of the club and clicked her tongue.

"So Hoki's in a tree and you're in the bushes," she stated matter-of-factly to the stunned Tamaki. "Am I going to regret asking?"

Whatever harried and overdramatic recount of yesterday and today's events Tamaki would have given his fellow medium never happened. At that moment, his attention was stolen by the sound of his 'overhead spy' screaming.

"SHE'S COMING!" Tamaki helpfully translated for the ghost. "Everyone hide!"

With no time to explain and no other known courses of action, Tamaki grabbed Miyako by the waist and pulling her into the bushes with them, clamping a hand over her mouth when she tried to shout at him.

"Please be quiet," Tamaki begged her, drowning out her muffled words. "I promise I'll explain later."

Miyako sent him a glare that made it's own promise: a swift death. Nevertheless, she stopped screaming and Tamaki cautiously removed his hand so he could creep up to the edge of the small branches and get a tiny look at his beloved's face-off with the Zuka Club girl.

* * *

><p>Hinako looked like a woman on a mission, that was the first thing Haruhi noticed. She moved with all the grace and poise one would expect of a Zuka Club member, and her eyes were filled with determination. Whatever this was all about, she clearly considered to be of the utmost seriousness.<p>

Several students turned their heads as she passed. It wasn't everyday a student from Lobelia graced their campus, especially not on her own. Hinako paid them no mind, either oblivious to the cares or simply not caring about them. Haruhi shifted the box into two hands as the Zuka Club girl closed in. Hinako grabbed the box as soon as she was within arms reached and opened it, not even sparing a glance at the bewildered Haruhi.

"I managed to get one in your size," Haruhi explained, though she doubted Hinako was really hearing her. "You were right, they had them in stock already so-"

Hinako slammed the box shut, cutting Haruhi off. She turned her head, acknowledging Haruhi for the first time. She gave a nod.

"Thank you, this is just what I needed."

With that, Hinako briskly walked passed the tree, her abruptness leaving Haruhi quite confused. The brunette stumbled a bit in her attempt to turn and watch Hinako go. She could only imagine what Tamaki and the others were thinking right now.

Hinako disappeared around the corner that lead to the back of the building, a place that was completely devoid of human life after school until the sports teams got themselves organized and came outside for practice. Haruhi was still trying to make sense of these odd happening when Hinako stepped back into view. She'd been gone for barely two minutes, and her return appearance made things even more confusing.

The yellow uniform suited well, at least as far as Haruhi knew. It swayed with her as she walked back to Haruhi, the neatly folded Lobelia uniform she'd previously worn clutched in her arms.

"Here," she pushed it into Haruhi's arms and kept walking, heedless of the brunette's questioning gaze. "I'll come get them at your house later. Remember not to tell anyone about this!"

"Wait a minute!" Haruhi called out. _'How did you get changed so fast?' _

But Hinako was already out of hearing range. She walked into a crowd of students, blending in so well that Haruhi lost her a couple of times. She could hear the guys talking amongst themselves, mostly about what had just happened (she distinctly heard Kaoru complimenting Hinako's appearance).

"What is she doing?" Tamaki cried. "I just don't get it!"

"Maybe she really does want to transfer to Ouran," Hikaru said with fascination.

"There's got to be a logical explanation for this… everyone keep your eyes on her!"

The group, including Haruhi and even Miyako, followed Tamaki's instructions, watching Hinako as she paced around the curb, her hands refusing to sit still and messing with the fabric of her dress. Haruhi didn't know what to make of it, she'd never seen a member of the Zuka Club this nervous. Hinako kept watching the street as more and more cars pulled up, and a thought struck Haruhi.

"Is she… waiting for someone?"

A car horn beeped. Though the distance made it hard to tell, Hinako seemed to brighten right up as a regular car pulled up in front of her. It was a convertible with the top down, giving Haruhi and the others a perfect view of the young man in the driver's seat. Hinako ran to the car, arms spread out wide.

Right there, in front of almost all the Ouran Host Club, Hinako Tsuwabuki of the Zuka Club threw her arms around the boy.

And kissed him.

A split second later, Tamaki's body plunged out of the bushes in a dead faint.

* * *

><p>"It makes no sense… it simply does not make sense."<p>

Haruhi growled, closing the book she'd been trying and failing to read in an effort to ignore the ramblings of Hikaru and Kaoru.

"Would you two knock it off," she admonished them. "This isn't a big deal."

"Isn't a big deal?" Hikaru whirled around, eyes bugging out of their sockets. "Haruhi, don't you realize what just happened? A member of the Zuka Club has a boyfriend! It's like if Kyoya started wearing frilly pink dresses and handing out candy to children, or if Hunny-senpai stopped liking cakes, or if Mori-senpai talked! It goes against the laws of the universe!"

_'And I thought wild freak outs were more Tamaki's thing,'_ her mind deadpanned.

Beside her, Miyako-senpai was in a similar state of boredom and annoyance.

"I'm with Fujioka," the female medium declared. "I may not know much about St. Lobelia's, but I do know they can't _all_ be lesbians. Statistically speaking, it's just not possible."

"Yeah, but this is the Zuka Club we're talking about," Kaoru emphasized for his brother, motioning with his hands as he did so. "Those girl's are Benibara's inner circle and they _hate_ men!"

"They think we're all lesser beings lower than the dirt. They'd never want to even hold a guy's hand let alone kiss him!"

While this was going on, Tamaki stood by the window, oddly silent after he'd been roused from his shock induced fainting spell. He barely heard the voices of his friends, all he could think about was what they'd just witnessed. Hinako Tsuwabuki, a high ranked member of the Zuka Club, in a relationship with a boy.

It was like Hikaru was saying, this was something that seemed to go against the very fabric of reality. Never in a million years could Tamaki have imagined that this would happen. And why did Hinako-san need an Ouran uniform for this? Was she trying to hide it from her boyfriend that she attended Lobelia?

Considering the school's track record for interactions with the opposite sex, this was far from an impossibility.

"I wonder how Hinako-san's date is going," he absently wondered aloud.

What Tamaki realized all too late was that he'd chosen to voice this thought when the last person he wanted to hear it was standing beside him. An enormous grin found it's way on Hoki's face as the ghost grabbed Elissa by the arm and scooped up Naru with the other one.

"Say no more, kid!" He called out. "We'll see you later!"

"Hoki, wait!"

Tamaki tried to run after Hoki, but the ghost easily dragging the shouting Elissa and the amused Naru through the door. Tamaki barely had time to slow down and wound up smacking face first into the hard wood. Hikaru and Kaoru laughed uproariously in the background while Haruhi rushed over to help him.

"Nice job, Suoh," Miyako muttered, sipping a cup of tea.

Haruhi peeled her moaning boyfriend off the door. He sprawled out on the floor, his color slowly but surely returning.

But as if the heavens themselves were enjoying Tamaki's pain, the doors suddenly and completely without warning sprang open. In walked the very person every single member of the club was sure they'd be seeing since this morning.

Flanked by Chizuru and a girl nobody recognized, Benio Amakusa was every inch the graceful yet intimidating lady she always had been. She glanced around at the Host Club, sticking her nose up to them. Hikaru and Kaoru gave her the strongest death glares they could muster, and wished now more than ever that Kyoya hadn't run off to do whatever it was he was doing. Benio sniffed.

"And where is Suoh?" She asked in a deceivingly polite tone.

Instinctively, Hikaru eyed the club president and Haruhi. Benio followed his gave and needed only a split second to take in the scene before springing into action. Tamaki could only watch as his most hated enemy snatched up Haruhi, taking her in her arms and hugging her close.

"Oh, you poor maiden," Benio sounded every bit like a true soap opera star. "I had heard that Suoh'd gotten his grotesque talons into you, but I simply refused to believe it. To think, all this time you've been at the mercy of a demon, but now that I'm here…"

Haruhi fidgeted, clearly trying to remove herself from the taller woman's grasp. The sight was enough to return Tamaki to full health and he sprang to his feet like a jackrabbit.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!"

Tamaki grabbed Haruhi by the waist and pulled as hard as he could without hurting her until she was wrenched free. The brunette gave him a dazed, yet grateful smile once he let her go. Tamaki didn't see it, as he was too busy engaging Benio in a glaring contest.

"And just what are you doing here?" He demanded.

"You're quite spirited today, Suoh," Benio answered mockingly. "I'm merely here because of a rather peculiar note that fell out of my dear Hinagiku's notebook."

She held out a folded piece of lined, white paper between two fingers.

"It mentioned going to pick something out at Ouran, so obviously I had to come and see what Hinagiku is up to."

"Yeah, well she's not here," Hikaru said as he and Kaoru placed themselves on either side of Tamaki, mimicking the set up of Benio's group. "So you can leave now."

"We wouldn't want to assault your delicate female senses," Kaoru mocked her, earning a hard glare from all three Zuka Club girls.

Chizuru smirked, an airy laugh escaping her lips.

"You see, Tomimi," she addressed the third Lobelia girl. "The man from Ouran are all sexist pigs driven by their ridiculous male pride. They respect their dogs more than us maidens."

Tomimi, a petite black haired girl with beady brown eyes nodded, grinning a toothy grin that looked very unseemly.

"Oh, I see Lady Chizuru, they're quite disgusting."

The girl's voice registered with Benio, and she brought a hand to her forehead, smiling apologetically.

"How could I have forgotton, you haven't met the Zuka Club's newest member, have you?" Benio snapped her fingers and Tomimi ran forward, looking like she was in heaven when Benio wrapped an arm around her. "This is Tomimi Yoshida, the Lady of the Sunflower. We've been showing her the ropes as they say."

The five club members (Mori was still sulking) crowded together to get a good look at this new member. She glared evily at them, and gave Haruhi a once over, sniffing like she'd just smelt something awful.

"Hmph," she turning away, holding her head high. "I have nothing to say to such animals."

"Now, now, Tomimi," Benio drummed her fingers against the girl's shoulder. "At least be mindful of Haruhi. She's been indoctrinated by the hideous male, but it isn't her fault."

Tamaki grit his teeth. Somehow, Benio wasn't as scary to him as she used to be. Sure, the desire to run and hide was still there, but it was lessening every second, for reasons he didn't fully understand. A swish of yellow caught his attention, the yellow of Miyako's dress as she slowly tip-toed to the door. Unfortunately, he wasn' t the only one to notice. If Miyako had been trying to escape Benio's wicked clutches, she'd failed miserably. Benio grabbed her by the arm and pulled her close, just as she'd done to Haruhi so many times in the past.

"Girls like this come in everyday," she went on, though it wasn't clear if she was still talking solely to Tomimi. "They think the Host Club is there to make them happy, but all these pigs want is to assuage their own ego by taking control of the poor maidens and crushing them under their oppressive thumbs. Men are all wolves in sheep's clothing, never to be trusted."

She pulled Miyako closer, and Tamaki felt long over due fear rise in his stomach when he got a good look at her face.

"Maiden, I wish you weren't brainwashed into this hierarchy. Though you're face is splotched with red, I see that your inner beauty far outshines it…"

Tamaki shrunk back as Miyako's aura flared black. Even her eyes seemed to turn black from the intense anger Benio's words had brought forth. Though he expected an explosion, Miyako was able to control herself and wiggle her way out of Benio's grasp.

"Okay," she said a bit too loudly. "This has been fun, but I have to go."

She gave them a fake grin while her hand blindly searched for the door handle.

"I'll see you later, Suoh and…" Miyako eyeballed Benio, her grin turning to a deep frown and her brow furrowing. "Uh… female version of Suoh."

She all but ran out the door, slamming it shut behind her. Both Tamaki and Benio stared at it in shellshock as the weight of Miyako's words sunk in. Ever so slowly, they turned their heads until they were eye to eye. It was hard to tell who broke first, but the reactions were prompt.

"What? I'm _nothing_ like you!" The screamed and pointed at each other in unison.

Hikaru and Kaoru began to snicker, and both Tamaki and Benio glared at them. Haruhi remained in the corner, wanting to stay as far away from the brewing fight as possible.

Benio kept up the silent argument for what felt like hours, but finally seemed to tire of it and turned up her own head.

"Well, I can see we were wrong and Hinagiku isn't here."

"Of course not," Tomimi eagerly spoke up, placing herself in front of Benio and walking backwards to avoid collision. "Why on earth would she want to spend her time with this filth?"

Benio pulled open the door, unaware of Tamaki burning holes in the back of her head with his eyes. They narrowed slowly, only to widen when Tamaki caught sight of something, or someone, he hadn't noticed before.

An elderly woman stood against the wall across from them. She leaned against it with her eyes closed, opening them when Benio passed her by and standing up straight. The woman stared after Benio, shaking her head in a disapproving manner. She muttered something Tamaki couldn't catch and walked out of sight. Tamaki didn't even bother asking anyone else if they'd seen her, instead, he just wondered if Miyako had.

* * *

><p>Tamaki had a hard time studying that night. And when he tried letting his imagination wander, he couldn't it that either. It was very frustrating that all on his mind was the Zuka Club and Benio's smug superiority, and then there was Miyako's little comment.<p>

"I am not like that crazy lady," he muttered angrily. "I treat women with_ respect_. I'm the Prince of the Host Club for goodness sake! I'm a gentlemen and I would never oppress anyone. What does she know?"

Tamaki slammed his fist against the desktop, wincing at the slight pain. He tried to force himself to forget about her and focus on something else, but all that would come to mind was that old woman he'd seen, and what kind of connection she could have with Benio.

Tamaki blew out some air, foreseeing a long, laborious night of fitful sleep in his future.

"Hey, kid!"

The blonde jumped, still not used to Hoki's random drop ins. He spun his desk chair around to face the three ghosts, taking in Hoki's usual manic grin and Elissa's combatively quiet smile.

"You've been gone a while," Tamaki observed. "The date wasn't that long was it?"

"Oh no," Elissa shook her head. "Not at all, we just got a little lost is all. They went to an unfamiliar part of town but they weren't out for too long."

"Sure felt like it though," Hoki snorted as he flopped down on Tamaki's bed. "Those two should get an award: Most Boring Couple Of The Year!"

Elissa pointedly refused to acknowledge that, but Tamaki himself was intrigued.

"What do you mean," he pressed the male ghost. "Just what were they doing?"

Hoki sat up, bringing a finger to his chin in mock thought.

"Oh, well they talked," he explained. "And then they talked, and then they talked, and then they got ice cream, and then they talked, oh and you know what they did after that?"

"Talked!" Naru cheered, raising one hand in the air like she was in a class.

"Bingo!"

"You two…" Elissa groaned.

"Hang on," Tamaki stepped in to prevent another potential fight between the two adult ghosts. "You're saying they sat their for hours and just… just talked?"

Hoki nodded. "Yeah, for two whole hours they just sat there chatting it up. I haven't been that bored since I sat through that back to back showing of Rope. I almost wanted to die a second time it was so bad.

"I mean, you and you're girl are a way better couple than that. At least you guys get some action in!"

Tamaki raised an eyebrow at Hoki.

"…I assume," the ghost quickly amended.

Sighing, Tamaki clapped his hands together and closed his eyes. He now had more on his mind than ever and no way to calm his raging thoughts until possibly tomorrow.

Forget fitful sleep, he'd be wide awake staring at the ceiling for eight whole hours tonight.

* * *

><p>Haruhi swung her legs up and down, gently tapping the metal stairs with her heels in a steady rhythm. She stared out at the street, lit up by the moon and the streetlights, Hinako would be here soon.<p>

She'd gotten a text ten minutes ago saying as much. Once the initial shock of Hinako somehow having her phone number faded, Haruhi gathered the Lobelia uniform and went to wait outside for her. Her father was working late tonight, meaning Kyoya wouldn't be getting anymore phone calls, thank goodness.

Haruhi's ears picked up the now familiar sounds of a motor. They steadily grew louder until a long, sleek black car glided into view and stopped right next to Haruhi, allowing Hinako, still dressed in the Ouran uniform to step out.

She said nothing, merely holding out her hand for the folded clothing. Haruhi hesitated a moment, wondering why Hinako was being so tight-lipped, but handed them over all the same.

Hinako held them to her chest, as if afraid someone was about to run up and try to steal them. She studied Haruhi for a moment, then nodded curtly and made to turn around. Unfortunately for her, Haruhi had other ideas.

"Hinako," she stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder, which Hinako shook off. "I just want to talk to you."

"It's none of your business," the Zuka Club girl snapped. "I don't need your help anymore, so you can forget this ever happened."

"I just want to know about your boyfriend," Haruhi explained.

Hinako froze, turned slowly to reveal a pale white face and wide, furious eyes. Haruhi couldn't help the twinge of fear she felt at the sight nor the sudden feeling that she'd just made a grave mistake.

"You saw…" Hinako whispered dangerously.

Haruhi opened her mouth wordlessly. Unable to make a sound, she shrugged her shoulders and tried to smile.

"Well, you did meet with him out in the open," she countered.

Hinako considered that, and slowly her anger started to die away. She still looked ready to run at a moment's notice and Haruhi wasn't sure just what she was trying to do here, but at least they were making progress towards whatever that was.

The Zuka Club girl folded her arms, heedless of the bundle of cloth she held. Haruhi moved her head, trying to lock eyes with her, but Hinako refused to let her and Haruhi had to give up.

"Do you…" Haruhi paused. "Can you tell me about him?"

Hinako glanced at her, but only for a fraction of a second. She inhaled deeply, as if she was using all her willpower just to answer the brunette.

"His name is Touga," she spoke so softly, Haruhi had to strain to listen. "I met him two years ago, but we only… we only started, you know, seeing each other recently."

Haruhi nodded, urging her to continue.

"I don't know how it happened. I mean, I've always known men were oppressive and see women as below them. My own mother has been hurt countless times by men. They don't care about anything except their libidos and they use and abuse any woman foolish enough to fraternize with them. I've always known that and I've never doubted it. But…"

She stopped. Body shaking and lips quivering, Hinako stood before Haruhi, a torn and confused mess of the energetic girl Haruhi knew her to be.

"Touga is different?" The brunette supplied.

Though her shaking made it difficult to tell, Hinako appeared to nod her head at that.

"He listens to me," she wrapped her arms around her waist. "I can talk to him about anything, and he doesn't always agree, but he respects my opinion and doesn't belittle me. He's smart and kind and respectful and he never tries to force me into anything."

She looked up, revealing to Haruhi eyes brimming with unshed tears.

"He treats me like an equal," she was losing control of her emotions. "It's like… he's the exact opposite of everything I've known men to be."

Haruhi looked down, taking in Hinako's words slowly. While she couldn't say much in regards to the other girl's general opinion of men, she found she understood Hinako's plight. She knew firsthand that you can never choose who you fall in love with. Tamaki's face flashed in her eye's and a smile tugged at her lips.

"So you really care about him," Haruhi stated.

Hinako nodded wordlessly.

"Then why are you trying to hide him from the Zuka Club?" The brunette pressed. "Are you ashamed of him?"

"Of course not!" Hinako snapped. She scowled at Haruhi as if the girl had just gravely insulted her boyfriend. "I would never be ashamed of him, I just…"

_'Just…?'_

"I don't… I don't want him to come around Lobelia. Benibara will find out about him and she won't like it. She might shun me or kick me out of the club."

Haruhi nodded, things were starting to come together now.

"Benibara hates men," Hinako shook her head sadly. "She has ever since she was a child and her late grandmother would tell her stories of the world and the cruelty of men. She'd never accept one of us getting friendly with one no matter what. Benibara and Chizuru are my best friends. I don't want to lose Touga, but I don't want to lose them either."

Tears fell freely down Hinako's cheeks, the first time Haruhi had ever seen such a thing. These weren't the fake tears Haruhi had become so used to seeing either, they were fully genuine as they slid silently to her chin. Haruhi bit her lip, her mind drawing a blank. She tried to figure out something to say, that mental image of Tamaki coming back to the forefront of her thoughts.

'What would Tamaki do?' She wondered. 'Give compliments until she stops… no, I can't do that. Try to sweet talk her… definitely not. Act serious for once…'

Haruhi outright smiled, but stopped when she realized Hinako was still crying and this was not the time for her to be letting her mind wander.

"Hinako…" she tried to get the girl's attention. "I- I realize that you're scared, but don't you think if they were really your friends, they'd be happy for you?"

"Eh?" Hinako looked up, her head tilted to one side.

"I just mean," Haruhi kept going. "You say they're your best friends, and if that's true, they should be willing to accept that Touga makes you happy, no matter how they personally feel about him."

"It's not that simple," Hinako looked away again.

"How do you know?" Haruhi countered. "You can't keep up this charade forever. You need to trust your friends and Touga. You should tell him and Benio the truth."

Hinako bit her lip, and Haruhi sensed more tears on the forefront. She would never know if she was right or not, as Hinako abruptly turned around and walked back to her transport, the Lobelia uniform wrinkling in her hand from the tight grip she held on it.

"You just don't understand," she said evenly.

Haruhi didn't even bother trying to respond. Hinako's limo was driving around the corner by the time she began to formulate a suitable one anyway.

The brunette stood outside for another minute, just quietly watching the fireflies attacking the street light. When she finally turned around to walk back inside, the darkness left her unable to spot the young girl standing around the corner.

Having heard the entire conversation and understanding the implications, Tomimi was trembling with excitement. She took off running back to her own car as Haruhi reentered her house.

"Oooooh," her voice shook with pure joy and accomplishment. "Wait until Lady Benibara hears about _this_."

* * *

><p>The next rose faster than Hinako Tsuwabuki might have liked. Actually, the way she was feeling, it would have been better if nighttime lasted forever so at least she wouldn't have to go to school and pretend everything was normal.<p>

Her conversation with Haruhi last night had been all Hinako could think about. She even heard the girl's voice in her dreams, telling her again and again that she had to confess. She had to tell the girls about Touga and she had to tell Touga about the girls. But there was no way, she kept telling herself. Benio would never accept it, she'd drive Touga away, Hinako just knew it.

It was difficult, because she knew Benio wouldn't mean to hurt her. The Zuka Club president loved all women regardless of their appearance, personality or dreams. That love would never extend to a man and Hinako knew it.

And as if things weren't confusing enough, the new girl, Tomimi, had been giving her weird smiles and giggling in her direction all day. Whenever Hinako would look at her, Tomimi just smirked, her eyes dancing with a spark that made Hinako shiver like something was very wrong.

She prayed with all she had in her that the day would pass by quickly so she could leave and get to Ouran before Touga, but by the time she got there, she felt like fifty years had gone by since this morning. Hinako exited her car and commanded the driver to head home. She stood on the curb, ignoring the funny stares various students were giving her as they passed. She closed her eyes, drowning them out by going over exactly what she was going to say to Touga for the hundredth time.

Haruhi's words had had a stronger effect than she cared to admit, but she knew now what she had to do. At least, she hoped she did.

Hinako's eyes snapped open when a familiar car horn reached her ears. When she saw Touga's car coming, she almost lost her nerve and took off running. Clenching her fists tight, she stood her ground and reminded herself that she had to do this. No self-respecting woman would run away from their problems, she would face them head on.

Touga stopped his car directly in front of her, his typical easy smile fading as he took in Hinako's appearance. His brow furrowed in confusion.

"Weren't you wearing a different uniform yesterday?"

Hinako absently ran her fingers against the familiar red fabric of her Lobelia uniform.

"Can you walk with me?" She asked.

Though still clearly confused, Touga nodded and put his car into park before stepping out. The couple starting across the street, silently moving away from the wandering eyes and ears of Ouran's student body. Hinako saw Touga watching her expectantly out the corner of her eye. This was it, now or never.

_'I'm just glad nobody can hear us,'_ she thought.

* * *

><p>"Can you hear them?" Tamaki whispered to Haruhi.<p>

Though the look she responded with gave the clear message of 'we shouldn't be here right now,' it flew completely over the fanatical blonde's head.

"Well, can you?"

"Tamaki, it isn't right to eavesdrop and you know it," Haruhi berated him. "We should leave now and give them their privacy."

"Haruhi," Tamaki sounded appalled. "We are not eavesdropping, we're making sure Hinako-san and her love get their happy ending! It's our job to make every young lady who comes to our club happy, Zuka Club or no."

"But she didn't come to the club," Haruhi flatly reminded him.

"And besides," Tamaki obliviously went on. "It's not like anybody else is watching."

* * *

><p>"Can you see anything?"<p>

Hikaru pushed past the stationary Mori-senpai to get a better look. Hinako and her boyfriend were just visible in the distance. Moreso were the boss and Haruhi, doing their own spying from just around the corner. Hikaru wondered to himself how the boss was getting Haruhi to along with it.

"I think… they're talking," Hikaru commented, squinting his eyes in an attempt to see better. "I know she's not wearing the Ouran uniform, she must be telling her… _boyfriend _the truth."

His choking on the word 'boyfriend' didn't go unnoticed, nor was he the only one who felt that way.

"I still can't believe it," Kaoru muttered, shaking his head.

"It is a strange development," Kyoya agreed.

Hikaru nodded, blinked twice and realized who had just spoken. Whirling around, the older twin pointed an accusing finger at the unflinching Shadow King.

"Where have you been?" The redhead demanded.

Kyoya pulled out his ever present notebook and opened it to a random page, his glasses shining in the sunlight as he perused the page.

"While you were play spy, I took the liberty of doing some research into the situation and background of Ms. Tsuwabuki's male friend."

The Hitachiin twins glanced at each other, neither at all surprised by this.

"So what did you find out?" Kaoru questioned.

"His name is Touga Hisakawa. He comes from a moderately wealthy family but attends public high school in another district. His family and Ms. Tsuwabuki's family have done business together for the last few years which is likely how they met."

He snapped the notebook shut. Hikaru wondered if their was more, but held his tongue and went back to watching the distant scene. He just wished they could hear what Hinako and this Touga guy were saying.

* * *

><p>"Lobelia, huh?" Touga said more than asked, a look of thoughtfulness crossing his features.<p>

Hinako fought the urge to look away. "I'm sorry I lied, it had nothing to do with you."

"So what then?"

That urge became overwhelming, and she appeased it by closing her eyes but not moving head. She breathed a shaky breath, her stomach swelling up. This was going well so far, but she had an awful foreboding feeling that kept her from fully calming down.

"Hey, are you alright?"

She felt Touga place a comforting hand on her shoulder. Somehow, this made the massive knot of her nerves loosen. A tiny smile reached her face and she marveled at how after believing for so long that all man were rotten to the core, she would find a real diamond in the rough like Touga. Or maybe that wasn't it, maybe it was her that had been… not wrong, but a bit unfair.

Maybe, just maybe, not all men were-

"Take your filthy hands off her!"

Hinako gasped. Her eyes snapped open and she whirled around to face the fast approaching and clearly enraged Benio, flanked by a frowning Chizuru and an oddly gleeful Tomimi.

'_Oh no…'_

Benio's face was red as a tomato, and she looked ready to murder Touga as she pulled Hinako away from him and into her arms.

"Just what do you think you're doing to our Hinagiku?"

Touga looked taken aback, his mouth opened in shock. Hinako ground her teeth together, sensing that things were about to go downhill fast. Benio would never back down to a man and Touga was no pushover either.

"Excuse me?" Touga quickly recovered. "I don't know who you are, but I don't recall it being a crime for a guy to have a discussion with his girlfriend."

Hinako felt Benio tense up, and her already awful feeling became even worse. Chizuru and Tomimi even backed up a little, sensing the coming explosion.

"Girlfriend…" Benio repeated dangerously. "Did. You. Say. Girlfriend?"

"Lady Benibara," Hinako pulled herself away from her friend and stood between her and Touga. "I can explain."

"You don't need to," Benio's words made Hinako blink in confusion. "I understand perfectly what's happened and I don't blame you in the slightest, my dear Hinagiku. You're still young, and you have much to learn about the truth of the world. I'm just angry at myself for not realizing what was happening."

Benio's expression softened, though Hinako was by no means comforted.

"Once you've come back to your senses, you can thank Tomimi-chan for alerting me to what was happening."

Hinako gasped and stared at the younger girl, who merely grinned back. She lifted a finger to her neck and slashed it across, her message clear. Hinako felt she could have strangled the girl right there and then.

Tamaki bit back a scream, grabbing Haruhi and pulling her against him as he moved out of view and craned his neck out as far as he could to watch the growing scene.

"This is bad, this is very bad, very very bad," he kept repeating.

He saw Benio grab Hinako and pull her away from Touga. The young man protested, leading to an all out shouting match between the two while poor Hinako was at a loss, flinching under the glare of Chizuru.

"We have to do something," Tamaki loudly whispered in his girlfriend's ear.

"Like what," she whispered back.

Tamaki was about to answer, when someone else caught his eye, someone nobody but him was paying any attention to.

"It's her," he murmured to himself, watching the elderly woman stare at Benio like she was trying to mentally tear the woman's head off.

Tamaki's focus switched to her, and what Benio could have done to make the ghostly woman so angry that she would follow her all over the place while glaring at her like this.

The woman's head snapped to the side, hard grey eyes burning into Tamaki's violet. His insides froze, but he found he couldn't look away, not even when the woman started towards him with a speed her frail body likely couldn't have managed in life.

"You can see me," she said as if Tamaki needed to be told that. "I need your help."

* * *

><p>"I still think we should get closer," Hikaru muttered. "We can't hear anything they're saying!"<p>

"I hope they don't start fighting," Hunny-senpai remarked nervously.

"They're already fighting," answered Kaoru. "And what is the boss doing?"

He pointed out Tamaki, who appeared to be talking to the air while Haruhi stood to the side watching.

"He must be talking to Hoki or Elissa," Hikaru answered. "That or he's finally snapped for real, could be either or."

"Oh!"

Hunny-senpai followed his sudden cry by running out of the club's hiding place amid both twin's protests. He ran into the crowd and pulled out a young girl they immediately recognized as Miyako. While mentally questioning how their cake loving senpai had been able to pick her out among the barrage of students, Hunny-senpai dragged Miyako over to them, shouting the entire way.

"Miya-chan, you have to tell us who Tama-chan is talking to!"

He let her go once they'd reached their destination, and Miyako needed a minute to steady herself from the sudden 'attack'.

"What ghost is he talking to, Miya-chan?" Hunny-senpai asked again.

Miyako stared at him as if she'd never seen anything him, then incredulously turned to Hikaru.

"Did Haninozuka just call me _'Miya-chan_?'"

Hikaru just rolled his eyes and pointed at Tamaki, silently asking the female medium to do as they asked. Sighing in annoyance, Miyako turned her head and leaned forward to see better.

"It's not Hoki, Elissa, or Naru-chan," she informed them first. "It's an old woman, but I've never seen her before. Looks like she's asking him something and he doesn't want to do it… he's pointing at the school I guess because whatever she wants can be found here… and now she's yelling at him and he's cowering… okay, I think he's going to do whatever she's asking… he's turning around and… she's putting her hand on his back- oh no, he is not."

She trailed off, which didn't go over well with the others present.

"Not what?" Hikaru demanded.

His question was answered when Tamaki's body suddenly jerked forward.

* * *

><p>Haruhi yelped, involuntarily falling to the hard ground. She knew Tamaki had been talking to a ghost just now and he'd told her exactly what the ghost wanted. She'd been unsure if it was really a good idea to go along with what the old woman wanted and Tamaki outright didn't want to do it. She wore him down eventually, it seemed, and now Haruhi had to watch her boyfriend gasp and jerk around like he was having a seizure. Even though she knew what was really happening, it didn't make the sight any less scary.<p>

Then Tamaki relaxed and let out a breath. Or rather, the old woman let out a breath. Standing up straight, she narrowed her (Tamaki's?) eyes and openly snarled in Benio's direction. Haruhi struggled to her feet, lost for words. The woman stormed away, honing in on Benio like a missile. Haruhi moved into view and watched her possessed boyfriend walk right up to Benio, heedless of the confused Hinako, Touga, Chizuru and Tomimi.

Benio herself was clearly surprised by Tamaki's bold appearance, but gave him a superior smile all the same.

"And what do you want?" She rudely asked. "This doesn't concern you, Su-"

SMACK

Haruhi's jaw dropped. No matter how hard she tried, she would never be able to accurately describe how Benio, or any of the present Zuka Club for that matter, must have felt at that moment when 'Tamaki' drew back 'his' hand and slapped Benio as hard as 'he' could.

The Zuka Club president stumbled back. She stared at 'Tamaki,' bugged eyed and jaw hanging open. Haruhi didn't think she'd ever seen the older young woman quite so uncomposed.

"You…" Benio couldn't even form a sentence. "You… HOW DARE-"

"SHUT UP!" Tamaki's voice was the same, but had a shriek to it Haruhi was sure hadn't been there before. "Shut your damn mouth, you stupid little twit! Don't you remember me teaching you to keep quiet when your elders are talking?"

"Excuse me?" Benio shoot to her feet. "Who do you think you are, Suoh?"

'Tamaki' raised 'his' hand again. "Don't make me give you another one, Little Blossom. You just keep your mouth shut and listen to me. I've waited far too long to say this and you will not talk over me, young lady!"

Benio let out a gasp, her hand going to her heart as pure horror dawned across her features.

"Little Blossom… _how do you know that name? _Nobody ever called me that except…"

If Haruhi didn't know any better, she'd think Benio had tears in her eyes. The Zuka Club president bravely leaned forward, looking Tamaki right in the eye and taking deeply shaking breaths. A single word passed her lips, and it didn't surprise Haruhi in the slightest.

"Grandmother…?"

Benio's grandmother sniffed, moving away from the young woman's outreached arms.

"Look at you," she spat. "You think I haven't been watching? I may be dead, but I'm always around, Little Blossom. And I am extremely disappointed in your behavior, young lady."

"But…" Benio stammered. Around her, Hinako and Touga were completely at a loss while Chizuru looked close to fainting. Tomimi just stood there awkwardly. "But Grandmother, I'm doing what you sa-"

"What _I _said?" The old woman finished for her, sounding deeply offended. "I told you to be a strong woman and never let anymore oppress you or try to make you feel less than you are worth. I told you to beware of men who would think you inferior and show them your strength and drive. I NEVER told you to hate all men, that's just your immature over-superiority talking.

"Now you listen and you listen good. You are going to apologize to your friend Tsuwabuki and her beau. Not to mention you are going to stop trying to drag Ms. Fujioka into your club. She does not want to join, get over it! Finally, you're going to end this misandry of yours and accept that you are no better than anyone else just because you're a woman, that is NOT FEMINISM. And for that matter, stop flirting with every damn girl you see. ARE YOU A TRAMP?"

"No! No!" Benio cried and shook her head, cowering before the possessed Tamaki.

"You'd better not be," her grandmother shouted back. "Your mother _and father _did not work their asses off to give you a good life just so you could go cavorting with a bunch of random women like a damn playboy!"

Benio was outright sobbing now, but luckily for her, her grandmother's anger was spent. Breathing deeply the woman closed 'her' eyes and opened them again.

"By the way," her voice softened, making Benio cautiously look up. "Your last performance was very good. Though you shouldn't overact so much. Your singing has improved as well."

A funny sound came out of Benio's throat, but no words. Her grandmother nodded, maintaining a frown that suddenly had no bite to it.

"I'm always watching, Little Blossom," she said. "I'm with you."

Tamaki's body then jerked forward again, and both Haruhi and Benio ran to him.

"Grandmother?" Benio desperately called out. "Grandmother, are you there?"

Tamaki grit his teeth and groaned as his body stilled. He took in deep breath after deep breath and looked at Benio.

"Sorry," he gasped out. "She left."

Benio stared at him, looking torn between screaming and crying. Rather than that, she stood up and took off in a dead sprint. Chizuru and Tomimi where quick to follow, both shouting after their leader, demanding to know what was going on.

Hinako and Touga lingered, both staring at Tamaki's crouched over form, utterly stunned.

"That… hurts… a lot," Tamaki stuttered.

Haruhi took out a handkerchief and wiping the excess sweat off her love's forehead.

"I can see… why… Miyako… doesn't like it."

"Stop talking," Haruhi scolded him lightly. "Don't strain yourself."

Tamaki managed a nod, and Haruhi remembered then that they were still being watched, and their witnesses had absolutely no idea what was going on. Haruhi looked at them and smiled weakly.

"What the hell was that?" Touga asked.

Haruhi and Tamaki glanced at each other, and the latter shrugged.

"A family reunion?"

* * *

><p>The sun was setting when Hinako got back to the large academy. It looked imposing today, or maybe that was just Hinako.<p>

Touga's car was park behind her, Touga himself awaiting her return. He'd been weary of returning to the school this soon since Benio found out about them, but Hinako convinced him that she needed to talk to her club president and best friend as soon as possible. Benio always stayed late at school, so Hinako was pretty sure this was where she'd gone when she ran off earlier.

As expected, the first thing Hinako saw when she entered the main club room was Benio, silhouetted against the setting sun as she stood, arms crossed, at the window. Gulping, Hinako stepped forward, her echoing footsteps making her presence known. Benio didn't react, but Hinako kept moving closer, ignoring the little voice in her head urging her to run.

"He drove you here."

Benio's voice made Hinako jump, but she quickly recovered.

"It was his turn," she explained. "We rotate who drives who and today is his day."

Benio exhaled deeply, yet still didn't turn around.

"Benibara," Hinako bravely began. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I didn't want you to be mad at me. I love Touga, I really do and I don't want to lose him, but I don't want to lose you and Chizuru either. You guys are my best friends and I… I want you to be okay with me and Touga."

She stopped before she could ramble any further, Benio didn't appear to be listening to her anyway. Hinako wondered if her senpai was still in shock over what happened before. All things considered, Hinako wouldn't blame her if she was. Then Benio shocked her once again by turning around and looking down at the shorter girl with an oddly solemn face.

"Hinako," she put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Does he treat you right?"

"Of course," Hinako breathed. "You know I wouldn't stay with him if he didn't!"

At this, Benio almost smiled. Nodding her head, she squeezed Hinako's shoulder before pulling her into a hug. Hinako stiffened, but didn't try to pull away. Benio bent down, her mouth coming to Hinako's ear.

"As long as you're happy," she said softly. "Then so am I."

And suddenly, all the weight that had rested on Hinako's stomach faded away. Tears forming, she hugged Benio back with more enthusiasm than she'd been able to show in days.

'_I guess you were right, Haruhi.'_

* * *

><p>The next day dawned over Ouran Academy. It found Haruhi Fujioka walked from the train station to the school and yawning loudly. She was regretting her idea to stay up late and study more and more with each step.<p>

Though she still felt a bit drowsy, she came to abrupt attention upon recognizing a tall woman in a Lobelia uniform walking towards Tamaki, who was just arriving. Haruhi stood rigid for a moment, then broke into a run, fearing that a massive altercation was on the horizon.

To her surprise, she found nothing of the sort. Benio was standing before Tamaki looking quite anxious and not at all happy to be there. She only spared Haruhi a passing glance as the petite girl stopped in front of her.

"I came to apologize," she said to Tamaki, who was very clearly on guard. "For everything. I know I've been wrong and I'm sorry."

Tamaki eyed Haruhi, as if searching her for an opinion on how to deal with this. She gave her boyfriend a tiny gesture, urging him to talk to Benio. The blonde nodded and looked back at the woman.

"Thank you, I accept your apology," he held out a hand that Benio almost jerked away from.

She stopped herself in time and tentatively reached for it. With Haruhi and a hundred random students as witness, the presidents of the Host Club and the Zuka Club shook hands, seemingly ending the rivalry between them forever.

"I don't really know what happened yesterday," she went on once they let go. "And I don't care to."

She added this last part when Tamaki opened his mouth, likely to explain exactly what had happened.

"I'd rather just put it behind me and move forward, alright?"

"Fine," Tamaki agreed.

Haruhi gave a sigh of relief, catching both club presidents' attention.

"Well, I'm glad you were able to settle things peacefully," she said with a smile. "It's nice to there will be no more fighting."

"But of course," Benio answered with a much more devious looking smile. Though she probably didn't mean anything by it, it was enough for Tamaki to misinterpret and subsequently began enraged over.

"Hey," Tamaki shouted while pulling Haruhi to him possessively. "Don't look at her like that!"

Benio blinked and raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

"Like that!" Tamaki shoot back. "You were trying to flirt with her, don't deny it!"

"I did no such thing, and you're sure one to talk, Suoh."

"I'm her boyfriend, I'm allowed to flirt with Haruhi all I want!"

"Oh, is that how you see your relationship? Just like those girls you play games with in your club, huh? I guess I should have know you'd never change you rotten manchild!"

"HOW DARE YOU!"

As the argument got more heated, students moved as far away as they could from the screaming Tamaki and Benio. Haruhi could only sigh and roll her eyes.

'_I guess I should've known it wouldn't last,' _she thought to herself.

With the area around them clear, it was easy for any students at the large front door's threshold to watch the shouting match. One of them was Miyako, who gripped the handle of her bag tightly and shook her head.

"Those two are so alike, it's scary."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Anyway, I really enjoyed this chapter because the Zuka Club and their feminazi ways have always pissed me off, and I wondered what would happen if one of them, particularly one of Benio's inner circle, actually fell in love with a man.**

**So that's where this chapter came from. I hope you enjoyed it and look forward to the next one, some fun stuff is going to go down. :D**


	8. Ghost Hunter Fukui!

The day after Tamaki awoke from his coma, after all was said and done and everyone had gotten reacquainted, him and Haruhi sat down and had a long discussion about the nature of their relationship. It took roughly one love confession and embarrassment filled hour for them to realize that they wanted more than anything to be together.

At the same time, Haruhi really didn't want to leave the club. It had taken time, but she'd come to love being in the Host Club, and having to quit and only come around as a guest just wouldn't be the same. They agreed, for this reason, to keep things quiet for the time being, letting only the rest of the club and their families know the truth. Tamaki had been a little sad about her decision, having wanted very badly to see her in the girl's uniform more often. That was met with mere sweat dropping and eye rolling.

Thus, the love relationship of Tamaki Suoh and Haruhi Fujioka began.

Things ran smoothly during school. Tamaki was a born actor and Haruhi was sensible enough to never run her mouth off at inopportune moments. The biggest difficultly came after school, when the couple would go on dates. They couldn't go to five star restaurants Tamaki was familiar with, the chances of a classmate seeing them were good enough to make it not worth the risk, according to Haruhi. This meant that they were mostly confined to 'commoner eateries' as Tamaki dubbed them, and after the first time, the blonde found he didn't this arrangement mind one bit.

"The ramen was excellent," he gushed on the way back from yet another of these outings. "Did you taste the pork, it was so rich and flavorful! Haruhi, the next time we go there, remind me to get the recipe so my personal chef can cook it every night!"

Beside him in back of the limousine, Haruhi could only smile at her over excited boyfriend. "Tamaki, I think if you ate pork ramen every night you'd get sick of it pretty fast."

"Au contraire, mon Haruhi," Tamaki spoke the French phrase smoothly as only a native speaker could. "I find that the more one indulges in something, the more they enjoy it."

Haruhi noted the look in his eyes, and wondered if his words had the same double meaning she thought they did. Either way, he wouldn't be getting a goodnight kiss tonight.

"Well, if you _do _get the recipe, you should at least have it only-"

CRASH

The limousine jerked around, a loud whining following the impact, and sending it's unfortunate backseat passengers flying. Haruhi shrieked and flew forward. Her head came an inch away from the tinted glass window before she was harshly pulled back into the strong arms of Tamaki.

"Are you okay?" He cried out, looking deathly pale.

Haruhi nodded, still reeling from the crash and her brush with a potentially severe head injury. The limo had come to a stop spread out across the street. Luckily, passing cars stopped in time, making the collision a mere two car accident. Not that this stopped the other drivers from 'voicing' their aggravation via numerous blaring car horns.

"Toshiro, what happened?" Tamaki shouted over the noise. "Haruhi was almost hurt!"

"Forgive me, Suoh-sama," the driver answered, clearly trying to mask his own shakiness with calm. "I think the brake seized up for a minute. I am deeply sorry."

Tamaki waved a hand at him, too busy looking over Haruhi for any wounds.

"Don't worry about it, right now we have to make sure Haruhi is okay."

"I'm fine, Tamaki."

"We don't know that yet!" The frantic blonde cried. "What if you have a concussion or your head is bleeding and we can't tell?"

Amid disjointed protests, Tamaki seized Haruhi's head, turning it in various directions and inspecting every inch with an analytical eye. The brunette's hands found their way to Tamaki's chest, softly, yet forcefully, pushing him away.

"I said, I'm fine," Haruhi insisted, edging to the other side of the car. "You should be more concerned with the other driver."

Tamaki blinked in confusion, then suddenly remembered that they'd hit another car which meant someone else might've gotten hurt. Eyes bugging out, Tamaki let out a cry, shoved open the car door and hurled himself out. Haruhi quickly followed.

Tamaki watched the driver of the small, old looking car step into the street and calmly walk up to the point where both cars connected. Tamaki shot a look at it and almost cringed. He didn't know much about mechanics, but that didn't look like dent you could just bang out. He turned to the other driver, fully expecting to deal with a red faced, enraged man who would demand payment for the damage a wave a threat of legal action if refused. Tamaki would have no problem paying, it was his limousine's fault after all.

What he found was the driver, a lanky man in his thirties with messy brown hair, green eyes and noticeably large ears and nose, quietly examining the damage with a thoughtful expression and a finger resting on his chin. He didn't even seem to notice anyone watching him.

"Hmmm…" the man muttered through his sealed tight lips.

Tamaki wrung the cloth of his jacket, biting down on his bottom lip with enough force to numb the area.

"S-sir," he stammered. "I'm terribly sorry, it was my fault and I'll gladly pay for the damages."

The man continued to ignore him for several seconds, making Tamaki even more nervous. Then the man stopped, his wandering eyes reaching Tamaki and they stared at each other, heedless of the approaching Haruhi. The man blinked twice, then straightened up and gave a casual grin that Tamaki couldn't find it in himself to return.

"Oh, hey," he greeted them cheerfully. "Didn't see you there. This your limo?"

He pointed at the vehicle where Toshiro still sat, patiently awaiting his charge's return. The blonde glanced in it's direction for a moment, then slowly nodded.

"Yes, and I'm very-"

"Relax," the man held up a hand for further emphasis. "Accidents happen, plus I have insurance."

"…really?"

The man laughed heartily, clearly amused by the look on Tamaki's face as his words sunk in.

"Honestly, the only thing I'm upset about is that you have a limo," the man remarked, staring longingly at the sleek black limousine. "Seriously, I want one of those…"

"Well, sir," Haruhi stepped in before Tamaki could offer to give the man a limo as an apology. "Can my boyfriend at least give you his information just in case?"

The man shrugged, glancing again at Tamaki who was nodding his head in agreement with Haruhi.

"Sure, whatever."

Haruhi, despite growing confusion and suspicion of the man's flippancy, fished a small notepad and a pen out of her purse and handed them to the blonde, who snatched them up and began writing furiously. He ripped the piece of paper of and handed it to the man, who shoved it into his pocket like it was nothing.

Tamaki felt like he should say something else, he could have gotten this man seriously hurt or worse, but before anything came to mind, someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around, coming face to face with a kind faced old woman in an oddly fancy kimono and full geisha-esque makeup.

"Pardon me, young man, but could I have a moment of your time?"

Tamaki put on a smooth smile, pushing his anxiety aside for a moment. "Why of course, if you'll just wait a moment, Madam."

The woman smiled. Tamaki took that as a yes and turned back around to find the man giving him a funny look and furrowing his brow.

"Uh…" he looked around awkwardly. "Were you just talking to someone?"

Tamaki blinked, unsure of what the man meant until it suddenly dawned on him. His bundled up nerves immediately doubled in size as he realized what he'd just done in front of a complete stranger. He didn't even want to look at Haruhi and see what she was thinking about this.

"Oh, I uh…" he stammered, clenching both hands into fists. "I just thought… I thought heard someone call me and- I was wrong so…"

The man pursed his lips, giving Tamaki a studying look the latter recognized as the one he'd been giving his dented car not five minutes ago. Tension began to rise, Tamaki had no idea what the man was going to say or if he'd even believed his lie. The man glanced in Haruhi's direction for a split second, then his eyes were right back on Tamaki. A grin broke out across his features.

"Well, this has been fun, but I have to get going," he gave them a wave and jumping back into his car, much to the shock of both Tamaki and Haruhi. "See you later!"

"Wait!" Tamaki shouted over the revving of the man's engine. "You didn't tell me your name!"

"Fukui," the man shouted back as the car started moving. "Bye!"

He pulled out of the collision, swerved around the limousine and careened down street and out of sight. Tamaki stared after him, still trying to process what had just happened and make some sense of it. He noticed Haruhi was having a similar problem, if her look of utter confusion was any indication.

"Well…" Tamaki started. "That was interesting."

Haruhi nodded in response. Tamaki glanced around aimlessly, catching something flowery out the corner of his eye. He then gasped, whirling around to face the elderly ghost he'd almost forgotten about. Haruhi noticed the action and shot her boyfriend a questioning look.

"Sorry, Haruhi. It's another spirit, is that okay?"

Her answer was an eye roll and a smile, as if to say 'why do you even need to ask?'

"Sounds great," she replied, making the tiniest of head gestures towards the street. "But first, I think we need to move the car."

Tamaki tilted his head to the side, his ears registering a loud honking that made him jump. Turning again, Tamaki found at least ten cars on either side blocked from moving by Tamaki's limousine. The blonde eyeballed Toshiro, who appeared to be having some trouble getting things moving what with all the cars closing him in.

The couple could only stand there and glance awkwardly at each other.

Meanwhile, the man known as Fukui was driving away much slower than Tamaki realized. He kept one eye on his rearview mirror, watching the blonde head until he was too far away to be seen anymore. All the while, Fukui's lips were pursed tight.

"Hmmmm…"

* * *

><p>The door to the Fukui residence burst open, announcing the return of it's one male resident. Fukui smiled, his nostrils assaulted by the wonderful smell of dinner. It seemed Yumi was making his favorite type of ramen tonight.<p>

"Hi, honey," she called out from the kitchen. "You have a good day?"

"Oh yeah," Fukui shouted back, removing his coat and hat and hanging them up. "Got in a little accident on the way home, no biggie though."

He stretched his arms out, waking up tired muscles as a yawn flew from his mouth.

"Listen babe, I'm gonna be in the study for a while, okay?"

"What for?"

"Nothing much," he shrugged, walking past the kitchen and down the hall to a bare wooden door. "I just need to do a full background check on the guy who hit me. Then depending on what I find, I may go pay him a visit."

"Okay, but dinner is almost ready and I don't want it getting cold!"

"Got it!"

* * *

><p>Sunlight shone through the enormous windows, bathing Tamaki's serene face in warmth. A small smile sat on his face that set him at a deep contrast to the other two students sitting around him. Both of them where engrossed in some last minute studying, but looked up in mutual annoyance when Tamaki gave his seventh happy sigh in roughly twenty minutes.<p>

"Must have been a nice date," Kyoya remarked, scanning an internet page on his laptop.

"It was," Tamaki answered dreamily. "We sat there and ate commoner food in a commoner restaurant and talked about everything. It was wonderful… until we got in that accident. What a strange person we hit too, I can't really figure him out. What do you guys think?"

Kyoya glanced at Miyako, who, thanks to a recent seating change by their well meaning yet misguided homeroom teacher, now spent her classroom time at the desk right beside Tamaki's. Judging by the near endless times she'd come close to a screaming fit, she still wasn't completely used to so much time in close quarters with the princely character. As such, she was clearly trying her hardest to keep her nose in the large history textbook and her mouth shut, lest she say something that would have Tamaki in the corner for the rest of the day.

"Personally, Tamaki," Kyoya closed his eyes and laced his fingers together. "I can't believe you didn't get any information other than the man's surname. He could potentially sue you, you realize."

"Oh, Kyoya," Tamaki chuckled, as if his glasses wearing friend _hadn't_ just informed him of the very real, reputation shattering possibility. "I doubt that will happen. Odd as he was, Fukui-san seemed like a pleasant fellow.

Kyoya sighed softly, while Miyako was visibly rolling her eyes as she flipped aimlessly through her textbook.

"'_Seemed'_ is in no way good enough," the Shadow King muttered, closing the internet page he'd been reading about a murder victim found in a nearby park the day before and opening an unfinished essay that was due next week.

Tamaki, who hadn't heard his friend's last comment, went back to day dreaming about Haruhi until the bell rang some ten minutes later, signaling the start of another school day.

The first few classes went by normally, with the usual lectures and fast note taking that Tamaki had grown used to since his arrival at Ouran. They were nearing the end of geometry, and Tamaki was attempting to go over the homework with an unwilling yet hopelessly confused Miyako when the intercom system sprang to life with a loud crackle.

"Will Suoh Tamaki please come to the main office? Suoh Tamaki to the main office."

The voice faded away while all eyes slowly fell on Tamaki. The blonde gazed back, feeling a small but strong amount of awkwardness and anxiety building up in his stomach. The accusing stares of Miyako and Kyoya didn't help.

"And what exactly did you do, Suoh?" Miyako flatly questioned.

"Nothing, nothing at all!" Was Tamaki's immediate answer as he waved his hands in the air, almost hitting Kyoya in the process. "I have no idea why they would want to come down!"

"You haven't been stealing from the teacher lounge or vandalizing the school dumpsters, have you, kid?" asked Hoki, who appeared next to Tamaki from out of nowhere.

"I haven't," Tamaki insisted more fervently.

"Suoh-san," the teacher loudly interrupted. "To the office. Now."

He shrunk back from the middle aged man's frightening gaze before nodding his head and staggering out of his chair to the door.

Once out in the hall and away from so many prying eyes, Tamaki was able to calm down quickly and let his rational side awaken from whatever long nap it had been taking. The blonde reassured himself that it was probably nothing and most likely his father just wanted to talk to him about something.

But then what was that something?

Tamaki stopped, the most obvious possibility was flashing through his mind, making his stomach drop.

'_Oh no,' _he thought fearfully._ 'What if father has figured out my secret?'_

The idea drove Tamaki further into the depths of intense fear as his over active imagination came up with increasingly convoluted possibilities of how his father might react to discovering his son's 'extra curricular activities.'

Maybe he'd tell Grandmother and she'd have Tamaki shipped back to France and cut off his mother.

Maybe he'd be thrown out and made to live in the streets with the rats.

Maybe they'd give him to Mad Scientists and he'd be probed and studied for the rest of his life.

By the time his fantasies had branched off into aliens and a war with the ninjas, he was standing in front of the main office with his hand on the doorknob. He turned it as slowly as possible, apprehension overwhelming him with the desire to turn back. Then the door came open with a high pitched whine and revealed the well decorated office area complete with a large front desk made from the finest redwood.

The receptionist looked up when she heard the door open and found the blonde immediately, smiling warmly at him.

"Good morning, Suoh-san," she greeted him as he approached the desk. "You have a visitor. He claims he's a friend of yours."

Of course, Tamaki had known that realistically, none of his theories were bound to be correct. Even if his father did one day find out on his own, Tamaki knew he'd never do such horrible things to him. That said, the actual purpose of this summons was still a mystery, and he certainly hadn't expected the answer to be this simple. But what friend did he have that would come to visit him during school hours anyway?

As if sensing his inner plight, the receptionist pulled out a clipboard and scanned the page for the appropriate signature.

"He goes by 'Fukui,'" she read the name aloud. "He's in the next room waiting for you, or shall I have him leave and wait to see you after school?"

Tamaki didn't answer right away, and really, he had no idea what to say anyway. He recognized the name immediately, other than Haruhi and his schoolwork, the strange man had been all he could think about. The night before, after sending that elderly ghost to her final rest and dropping Haruhi off for the night, he'd felt a tiny amount of paranoia regarding his silent cell phone, as if at any second it would go off and Fukui would be on the other end demanding payment. That call never came, and Tamaki foolishly believed that would be the end of his dealings with the man known as Fukui.

Apparently, he was wrong.

He gave an 'Okay' to the receptionist and walked to the wide open door that lead to the visitor's entrance. He found Fukui almost immediately, the man's enlarged facial features were a dead giveaway. The man had his face in a notebook that looked as though it had been chewed up and burned several times but was somehow still usable. In any case, he was certainly capable of scribbling in it with a speed that would make Kyoya jealous.

Tamaki coughed. "Um… excuse me?"

Fukui's hand stopped, and slowly raised his head. Upon seeing Tamaki, the man's demeanor went through a quick and massive change. He rushed to Tamaki, grabbing his hand and shaking it wildly.

"Oh, man, am I glad to see you," Fukui cheered as his enthusiastic hand shaking technique sent Tamaki flying up and down like a rag doll. "I didn't think you'd come, but- GOD, this really makes my day. I have so much I want to talk to you about!"

"Could. You. Stop. Shaking. Me. First?"

Fukui blinked. "…oh!"

He let go of Tamaki's hand, but unfortunately the blonde was still airborne and fell smack on his face, moaning in pain.

"Sorry about that, buddy," Fukui sweat dropped and give his neck a sheepish rub. "I'm just really excited to finally meet one of you guys."

While he was gushing, Tamaki struggled to his feet, attempting at the same time to make sense of Fukui's words.

"One of who… look, if this is about your car, I'd be happy to pay for the damages. You don't have to-"

"Hey _relax_," Fukui interrupted with an easy wave of his hand. "I already told you, it's no big deal. And anyway, I came here to talk about you being a medium."

A wave of relief overcame Tamaki, making him let out a sigh and smile.

"Oh, that's good," he said. "For a second there, I thought you wanted- what did you say?"

If Fukui had caught Tamaki's sudden change from relief to fear, he didn't show it. Rather he made it worse by pulling his notebook back out and shoving his face right into Tamaki's, his eyes sparkling like that of a children on Christmas.

"So how long have you been seeing ghosts? Do they come to you or do you have to go looking for them? Have you ever- Mmmph!"

Tamaki shoved Fukui against the wall hard, his hands pressing down on Fukui's mouth, rendering his barrage of questions a muffled mess. The blonde's frantic eyes darted around, seeking anyone who might have been close enough to hear them. Once satisfied that they were alone, Tamaki rounded on Fukui again, who'd finally stopped trying to talk and now just looked affronted.

"I'm sorry," Tamaki quickly apologized. "But I… don't know what you're talking about."

Fukui gave him a look, distracting Tamaki long enough for the older man to squeeze out of his grasp and move several steps away from him.

"Oh please, don't play the denial card," he scoffed. "I saw you talk to a ghost and your reaction to my questions just now is proof that you're hiding something. Specifically that you see dead people! By the way, have you ever really wanted to say tha- Mmph!"

Fukui found himself hitting his head on the wall and struggled against Tamaki's hand on his mouth once again. This time, Tamaki wasn't going to let up so easily.

"Please stop that," he begged. "You're right, okay? I'm a medium and I see dead people and nobody is supposed to know so you have to stop asking me about it!"

The blonde released him, having said his peace. Fukui moved his jaw around experimentally while Tamaki's brain was close to exploding from trying to process all this.

"How did you…" he trailed off, but Fukui didn't need him to finish.

"Well, I myself can't see them, if that's what you're thinking," he started, reaching into his jacket pocket for something. "However, I've dedicated my life to the study of the paranormal and I've learned to keep my eyes open to everything! I always knew one day I would find someone who could see the ghosts and my waiting has paid off! I could kiss you, but that would be weird and my wife would kill me."

Tamaki thought about answering that, but decided not to and went back to the main issue.

"Okay, what exactly do you want from me?"

"Why, that's easy!" Fukui cheered, his arm snapping out of his coat and holding a small card between two fingers for Tamaki to take. He did so uneasily. "I'm a paranormal investigator by trade, see, and I've been looking for someone like you to help me with my research!"

"Wait, wha-"

"Of course I don't expect you to drop everything and come work for me. It would be awesome though if you could come with me on a hunt tonight. So, what do you say?"

At the moment, Tamaki could say absolutely nothing. His mind was running a mile a minute and he could barely put together two words let alone from coherent sentences. Fukui was watching expectantly, and would probably continue to badger him for a response. All Tamaki could think about was how badly he'd screwed up and how enraged Haruhi, Kyoya and Miyako would probably be. Unfortunately for Tamaki, this was the moment where his speech abilities came back to him and his inner thoughts were suddenly given a voice.

"Miyako won't like this," he muttered.

"Who's Miyako?"

His mind screeched to a halt, the outside world crashing back down around him. Tamaki felt like digging a hole and burying himself, knowing it was too late to come up with an excuse for his inappropriate comments. The ever observant Fukui had likely already deduced that Tamaki had another secret solely from the look on his face.

Lo and behold, Fukui pursed his lips tight, his eyes dancing with joy.

"Hmmmmm… would this Miyako happen to relate to the spirit world?"

Tamaki said nothing.

"Perhaps the same way you do?"

"No!" The blonde shouted, mentally cursing himself a second later. Fukui grinned.

"I knew this was a good day. Not one, but _two_ mediums? You have to let me meet her!"

Biting his lip, Tamaki twisted the fabric of his jacket nervously. This was not going well at all and it was shaping up to only get worse.

"I don't know, she's kind of secretive…"

"Don't worry about that," Fukui clapped a friendly hand on Tamaki's shoulder. "I'd never tell anyone about you guys, I'd just like to make some actual progress with my research for once."

Tamaki blinked, confused and wondering about the oddly solemn tone Fukui's voice had taken on.

"I've been a paranormal investigator for years, ever since I studied under my old mentor. I dreamed of being the one to prove once and for all that ghosts were real, if I could just find one. Which is hard considering I can't see them, and even if I could, it's my word against a million skeptics with science and stuff backing them up. The only one I have is my wife, and they all think she's crazier than me. Heh, I guess I'm lucky to have her, anyone else would've left me long ago…"

Fukui sighed deeply, staring up at the ceiling and looking close to tears.

"If I could just find a ghost, any ghost…"

When he trailed off this time, Fukui didn't pick up again, his face falling back to the floor while Tamaki felt overwhelming sympathy for the poor man. His better judgment flew out the window, making way for the over emotional attitude and desire to help everyone that was never too far away. Tamaki let out a sigh of his own.

"Could I possibly bring some friends?"

And who knows? Maybe meeting a real professional would help Miyako too, make her feel less alone and scared. Maybe this would be a step towards getting his little sister to open up to him more.

* * *

><p>"I'm going to kill you, Suoh."<p>

Tamaki laughed, failing to hide both his nervousness and visible flinch at her freezing cold words. He put on a smile.

"Oh, you don't mean that."

Her glare sent the phony grin running for the hills. Tamaki was amazed the room hadn't exploded yet from the ferocity of her anger. She leaned in a bit, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

"_Slowly and painfully_," she all but whispered.

Tamaki whimpered and shrunk back. He glanced around at the rest of his crowd, sitting in various spots in the Fukui household's living room and adjoining kitchen. Haruhi was scanning the large bookshelves that lined every wall; Kyoya was talking to Fukui about something; Hikaru and Kaoru just sat awkwardly and Hunny-senpai and Mori-senpai joined Yumi, Fukui's wife, in the kitchen.

Hoki, Elissa and Naru-chan wandered around the house, which almost led to a big blow up when Hoki suggested they take a look at the master bedroom. Tamaki couldn't remember the last time he'd seen Elissa look so incensed.

The final two members of their party sat on Tamaki's other side, one of them chuckling and clapping a hand on Tamaki's shoulder as the young man cowered in fear of Miyako's wrath.

"Don't worry, she's not really that mad at you," Kenji murmured in Tamaki's ear.

"I hope not," Tamaki hissed back. "I'm just glad she isn't doing what she did that time we had a stake out at her house."

A period of silence followed this, Tamaki was unsure Kenji had heard him until he straightened and found both the chauffeur and his younger sister staring into his eyes with deep apprehension.

"What do you mean?" Rika breathed, her voice and body tensing up. "What happened?"

Tamaki blinked, their behavior didn't make any sense to him, nor did their fear. In fact, the latter did nothing but make his own grow. Glancing to the side to make sure Miyako wasn't listening, he leaned in closer and gave the siblings a detailed recounting of their messy all night-er. By the time he was finished, Kenji was completely pale. Rika didn't look much better.

"Then… you've seen it," the maid stated.

Tamaki bit his lip. "Seen what?"

"The Black Aura of Doom," Kenji elaborated, his voice taking on a deep resonance. "It's what happens when Miyako becomes so angry, her rage radiates from her very body and creates an air of blackness around her. Anyone caught in it's grasp is doomed. Hence the name."

Tamaki shook with fear as Kenji became quiet. He was curled into a ball and pushing himself as far away from the older man as possible, failing to notice the thing he was pressing against was not the back of the couch.

"Suoh," Miyako's annoyed voice rang out. "Please stop leaning on me."

Tamaki yelped and jumped away, gulping in breaths in a vain attempt to bring his heart rate down before his chest inevitably exploded.

Fukui literally jumped into the room right at that moment, leaving Tamaki's efforts with yet another obstacle.

"Okay, everybody," the paranormal investigator announced. "Now that we're all here, let's get started!"

He pulled a chalkboard out from somewhere Tamaki couldn't pinpoint and grabbed some chalk, scribbling furiously while Hunny, Mori, and Yumi, a very pretty young woman with flowing black hair and a near perpetual smile, walked into the room. The chalk screeched against the board several times, making everyone visibly wince. When he was done, Fukui whirled around, grinning far too widely and clapping his hands together with great enthusiasm.

"Here's what we're doing," he announced like a University professor giving a lecture. "What I've drawn here is a basic layout of the nearby Juuoni Park. I-"

"It looks like a chicken nugget."

"No talking," Fukui snapped at Hikaru. "Anyway, Juuoni Park was first erected in 1946 as a memorial for the soldiers who died in the second World War. It's fairly small, but gets a decent amount of visits, especially around early morning. There's a great view of the sunrise from the fields."

"Fukui-san proposed to me there," Yumi sighed happily to a not particularly interested Haruhi and Miyako.

"Babe, please," Fukui's voice took on a tiny amount of exasperation. "Now as I was saying, the park is very old, but well cared for. It's history following it's creation is relatively uneventful, except for one very bizarre incident that took place in 1985."

Fukui stepped forward, his whole demeanor taking an ominous turn.

"That year, a group of cultists who believed demons, yokai and the like walk among us kidnapped a teenager and attempted to sacrifice him to their dark Gods. They set an entire area of the park on fire and were all found dead the next morning, except for one who told his story and hung himself with his bedsheets a day later. The bodies were all that of adults, no teenager was ever found and the cultist never gave a physical description of him. The police decided he was delusional and made up the ritual. The case was declared closed. All the dead trees were cut down and new ones planted over.

"Ever since then, there have been several reports of strange activity near the replanted trees. Things like footsteps and shaking branches and even the smell of something burning."

Fukui smacked his hand against the chalkboard, making everyone jump and in some cases (namely Naru-chan, Hunny-senpai and Tamaki) whimper. Mori-senpai looked close to running out the door.

"That's our mission tonight, ladies and gentlemen. We'll be staking out at Juuoni Park looking for any sort of paranormal activity, and an actual ghost if we're lucky."

He eyeballed Tamaki and Miyako, grinning a toothy grin.

"I've already got my stuff packed. Since there's a lot of us, we'll be splitting into groups of two which I will assign. Group One well be-"

"Hang on a minute."

Fukui's cheerfulness fell, making way for anger and annoyance at the older Hitachiin twin.

"Seriously, are we going to have a problem?"

Hikaru shrugged and stood up, while next to him, Kaoru was pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

"I'm not trying to be rude," the redhead began. "I'm just amazed that you, a 'Professional,' would fall for such obviously fake stories. I mean, if it's a public park with lots of trees, the footsteps and shaking branches can be easily explained."

Ah, ah," Fukui waved a finger in Hikaru's face. "What about the burning smells?"

"Again, it's a park," Hikaru deadpanned. "It's probably just people making bonfires or something."

Fukui stared at him, his lips pursing and a steady 'hmm…' leaving his throat.

"That would be an excellent explanation," the older man admitted. "Assuming there _wasn't_ an iron clad rule that no one is allow to start any kind of fire on park grounds. Seriously, you can't even light a cigarette in there!"

Hikaru's mouth opened, but the boy merely exhaled through his nostrils and sat back down, highly unamused by Fukui's subsequent gloating and victory dance.

"Hah! Fukui: 1, Skeptic: 0. Oh yeah!"

He punched and kicked the air, moving to music in his head while everyone else just stared at him.

"He's got you there, Red," Hoki called out. "What do you think, kid?"

The ghost turned to his living friend, to find both him sweating profusely and shaking with fear, an equally terrified Naru-chan clinging to his pants leg.

"I'm scared, Mr. Tamaki," the child ghost whimpered.

"Me too, Naru-chan, me too."

Hoki groaned.

The overexcited Fukui then noticed Tamaki's terror, rounding on him with a wide eyed look that did little to help the situation.

"No need to be nervous," the paranormal investigator explained. "We're probably not going to find anything out there that worse than a ghost."

Tamaki wiped some sweat from his brow as Haruhi came over to provide further comfort. Kenji moved out of the way so she could sit beside her boyfriend and softly rub the back of his hand, somewhat calming him.

"A-are you sure?" The male medium stammered.

Fukui gave him a closed mouth smile and nodded his head.

"Absolutely," he confirmed, leading Tamaki to give a small sigh of relief before he suddenly continued. "There's a very slim chance of us running into any demons, yokai, or anything of that sort. I'd say about 95 percent."

Not a split second later, Tamaki was in the corner completely drained of color and shaking like a leaf. Meanwhile, everyone who wasn't paying the blonde attention was glaring at Fukui.

"Could you _not_ do that," Miyako demanded. "He has a weak enough disposition as it is."

Fukui glanced at his wife for help, but she only shrugged her shoulders and smiled apologetically. By now, Haruhi and the ghosts had managed to bring Tamaki out of his funk and back into the group. Fukui slipped back into his excited mode and posed dramatically while pointing at the hardwood front door.

"Alright everyone. ONWARDS!"

* * *

><p>The hairs stood up on Tamaki's back. He clutched the brightly lit flashlight between his sweaty palms and shined it this way and that, much to the irritation of his fellow group members.<p>

Fukui had grouped him with Haruhi, Hunny-senpai, Mori-senpai and Fukui himself. Everyone else was on the other side of the park, guided by Yumi. Fukui had a great deal of equipment set up, most of which looked far too big to have come out of the small case he'd brought.

"It's portable," was the only explanation he would give.

The only thing that made Tamaki feel any better was the knowledge that Mori-senpai was here and clearly just as scared as Tamaki. Though he'd seemingly become accustomed to Hoki, Elissa and Naru-chan's presence, the silent young man still had a long way to go before he fully conquered his fear. As Hunny-senpai made continuing efforts to calm him, Tamaki edged over to Haruhi and Fukui, watching the latter look over some readings.

"Hmmmm… still nothing," Fukui clicked his tongue lightly traced a finger over the screen of his tiny laptop computer. "I wonder if we should get more out in the open."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Tamaki spoke up. "Here behind these bushes is perfectly safe- GOOD enough. Don't you agree, Haruhi?"

The brunette gave him a flat look, which she then focused on Fukui.

"You just _had_ to scare him, didn't you?"

"Hey, it's not my fault," Fukui argued defensively.

Not wanting to start a fight that could potentially make everything worse, Haruhi went back to looking out at the empty field of grass, recalling with a grim feeling a story she heard on the news about a murder that had taken place around this area. Apparently, the police were missing crucial evidence to convict the main suspect. She wondered if any ghosts would be appearing tonight, but from the looks of Tamaki and lack of communication from Miyako-senpai, that hadn't happened yet.

What was happening was Tamaki trying and failing to get over what Fukui has told him earlier and Fukui himself endlessly fiddling with his bizarre 'hunting' equipment.

"Need any help?" She asked offhandedly, not expecting a response.

"I got it," Fukui waved her away dismissively. "Just keep watching."

"For what? I can't see ghosts, remember?"

"I know that," Fukui answered curtly. "But if a ghost come around, they will leave signs that you can see, and we'll need lots of eyewitness accounts if anyone is going to believe us. So keep a look out for floating objects or randomly appearing footprints."

The man went right back to his work, closing out Haruhi along with the rest of the world, leaving the young girl to shake her head and go back to staring out at the nighttime scene.

Meanwhile, Tamaki was finally beginning to calm down and drive his train of thought down a more pleasant path. This enabled him to finally get to what Fukui wanted of him. His eyes scanned the darkened forest, searching for anything out of the ordinary while his ears were assaulted by the growing whispers of Hoki and Elissa.

"…and another thing, stop sitting so close to me, I don't want to want to risk touching you."

"Then why don't you move, Prima Donna? I was here first."

"Says you."

"Hey, no more fighting," Naru suddenly appeared in between the adult ghosts, gently pushing them away from each other and scowling adorably. "Be nice to each other now!"

Neither Hoki nor Elissa had any response to that. They stared dumbfounded at the little girl while Tamaki shoot her an approving smile.

"Very well said, Naru-chan," he murmured to her.

"Whatever," Hoki recovered enough to plop back down on the ground and cross his arms over his chest. "This is just boring… say kid, have I ever told you the story of how I died?"

Tamaki jumped. His head snapped around to face the grinning Hoki as he searched for an appropriate response to the strange and out of nowhere question. The blonde glanced at Elissa, then at Naru. His eyes lingered on the latter for a few moments before going back to where they began on Hoki.

"I don't know," the blonde answered. "Naru-chan is here, so it may not be the best story to tell."

"And knowing you, you'd probably tell some ridiculous lie to assuage you own ego, Cretin."

Hoki openly glared at Elissa, heedless of Naru and Tamaki's warning gazes.

"Oh yeah?" He challenged, drawing himself back to full height (roughly a head taller than Elissa). "What's your story, then?"

Elissa blinked, taken aback. The former singer held her silence for a short while, possibly having a mental debate over whether or not she should take Hoki's bait. She then stood a bit straighter, her hands curling into fists.

"It's a simple tale," she began was the solemn smile. "A former lover who simply couldn't accept that it was over. My life was taken by a bullet, so many years ago."

"Boring," Hoki shouted loud enough that Tamaki suspected Miyako had probably heard it.

After Elissa had finished smacking Hoki and the male ghost brushed himself off, his grin widely and began his own tale, much to Tamaki's consternation.

"Well, as you know, I was an army man," he boasted. "I was in a heavy battle zone, the enemies was surrounding us. I was literally on my last leg, but I still hard my gun and I was going to go out with as many 'Congs as I could! By the time I drew my last breath, I'd used up my last bullet and there wasn't a single one left standing."

Hoki smirked and puffed out his chest.

"So yeah, I'm a war hero stateside."

The way he was standing, one might think Hoki expected a round of applause and possibly a bit of buttering up by an adoring public. Instead, he got a confused Naru, an unsure Tamaki, and an unimpressed, disbelieving Elissa, who gave the male ghost a quick once over before answering.

"Interesting uniform you died in, Mr. War Hero."

Hoki's eyes changed immediately, though he still wore a grin and held his pose as he glanced down at his civilian clothing. Frozen for only a moment longer, Hoki relaxed, but he wasn't ready to let go of his story just yet.

"Oh, I didn't have my uniform that day," he quickly made up. "It was being… cleaned."

This time, it was Tamaki to play the role of the skeptic. Raising an eyebrow, he put his hands on his hips and gave Hoki a look.

"Hoki…" he said flatly. From Hoki's face and posture, Tamaki assumed the ghost would be sweating right now if he could.

"Okay, maybe I exaggerated a little bit."

"Hoki…"

"Okay, maybe I wasn't exactly on the battlefield."

"Hoki…"

"Alright, alright! I was on leave, I had too much to drink and I fell of a bridge. There! Ya happy?"

Without waiting for a response, Hoki marched away to the very edge of the bushes, muttered angrily yet unintelligibly the entire way. Tamaki watched him go, shrugging sheepishly.

"Well, you brought it up…"

During the entire exchange, the youngest ghost had been completely silent, as she was want to do whenever her adult companions were deep in conversation. This time, she appeared to have actually paid attention to them, and when Hoki trudged away, turned to Tamaki and spoke up.

"Are you talking about how we got invisible?"

Tamaki blinked, needing a moment to understand Naru's question.

"Oh, no, it's nothing," Tamaki tried to appease her, the last thing he wanted to hear was what on Earth had lead to a three year old girl's death. "Nothing you need to concern yourself with."

The girl tilted her head to one side, bringing a thumb to her mouth and clearly not satisfied with Tamaki's answer.

"Weren't they always invisible?" She asked.

"Huh?" That question left Tamaki stumped. "Naru-chan, people who… are like you and Hoki and Elissa weren't always invisible."

"I was," the affronted girl protested.

Though the conversation was going in a direction Tamaki wasn't completely comfortable with, he could no longer find it in him to care. Naru's statements where far too strange and the implications far too eerie to be ignored. Tamaki paused, wanting to phrase his next question in a manner the child would understand.

"Naru-chan…" he started slowly. "Don't you remember a time when you _weren't _invisible?"

She stared at him, her mouth open a fraction of an inch.

"Like, when you were with your mother and father, or what you name was-"

"I'm Naru!" she piped back up, smiling widely.

"I know that," Tamaki amended. "I meant your last name. You know, the name that went before Naru."

She stared at him again, this time with a great deal more confusion. The small girl remained silent a few seconds longer before that ever bright smile came back with a vengeance.

"I'm Naru!"

The conversation ended there, Naru-chan's short attention span leading her to become engrossed by a spider web that stretched between two close together bushes. Tamaki had no real desire to say anymore to her at the moment anyway.

He didn't quite know how to deal with what he'd just discovered. Naru-chan didn't remember her past… was it better that way? Perhaps there was some awful traumatic event she'd gone through that made her blocked out her memories. If that was the case, what on earth could have happened to her?

Tamaki couldn't answer any of these questions and it made him want to cry for the poor child.

He was distracted by a funny sound somewhere to his left. Blinking, Tamaki leaned forward, listening for it again. He was rewarded by a rustling sound, the timing of which sounded suspiciously like footprints. Tamaki moved back into the bush and turned to Haruhi, who was watching Fukui again.

"Hey, did you hear that?" He asked her, gesturing in the direction of the noises.

"Hear what?" Fukui shot to attention before Haruhi could even open her mouth. "Did you hear a ghost?"

Tamaki took an instinctive step back from the suddenly wild eyed Fukui.

"Uh, I'm not sure," he stuttered in response. "That's why I was asking Haru- AH!"

The blonde was ripped from his spot by the older man as he sprinted into the clearing with Haruhi, Hunny-senpai and Mori-senpai in their wake. Tamaki continued to scream even as Fukui shouted for the other group.

"YUMI! COME ON, TAMAKI HEARD SOMETHING!"

The dark haired woman gasped and popped out of the bushes, running with her husband and leaving the rest of her group to try and keep up.

"We're finally going to find a ghost!" Fukui looked close to fainting from excitement. "I always knew this day would come!"

"Wait a minute, Fukui-san!" Haruhi panted, pumping her legs as hard as she could to keep up.

"No time," the paranormal investigator brushed her off. "We have a ghost to catch."

"But I'm trying to tell you-"

"GET MOVING BACK THERE!" The crazed man shouted at Kenji and the twins, whom were walking slowly, the gap between them and the others slowly growing. They muttered disinterestedly and kept up their pace.

The group charged to the end of the field where large trees separated them from the rest of the park. Fukui in the lead, they passed through the flimsy obstacle, coming to a stop in the open park area. Tamaki skidded to a stop, catching sight of the source of the footsteps easily. He eyed the man, then looked to Fukui, and found the man's gleeful face melting off so fast he could almost hear the appropriate cartoon sound effect in the background. Clearly, Tamaki was not the only one who could see this particular person.

The young man before them stopped walking, he was dressed in casual clothes and carrying a flat, square box in his hands. He stared back at the small crowd watching him, likely feeling very awkward at the attention.

"Say, uh…" he said slowly. "Would any of you folks happen to know where Korama Town is from here? I'm already late delivering this pizza, so…"

All eyes went to Fukui, and most of them shone with exasperation and annoyance. Only Kyoya, who was busy giving the lost delivery boy directions, paid him no heed. As for Fukui, he couldn't stop staring at the short brunette who glared the hardest.

"I was trying to say that I heard footsteps too," she said slowly. "So it's probably not a ghost."

Fukui blinked once, twice, three times. Then he glanced in several different direction and sprang away from the group, laughing loudly as his face turned red from embarrassment.

"I guess I got a bit carried away," he admitted.

"What a disappointment," the downtrodden Yumi spoke up, hanging her head. "I haven't been this let down since that time I ordered from Lady Ai's Love Site."

"Don't be sad, babe," Fukui went to hug his wife to him, rubbing her back lovingly. "After all, the night is still young."

"Actually, Fuku-chan," Hunny-senpai stepped forward. "Takashi and I have to go now, he has kendo practice really early and I haven't even had my midnight cake snack yet."

"I'm afraid I'll have to depart as well," Kyoya added, walking back to the group after seeing the delivery boy off.

"Me too," Miyako thirded them, walking away with Kenji and Rika at her back.

"We'll see you guys later," the latter called over her shoulder.

"Oh, come on," the frustrated Fukui argued. "You can't leave!"

"Hey, I don't blame them," Hikaru remarked, earning a glare from Fukui which he gladly returned. The elder twin was so busy doing this, he didn't notice his brother crouched down beside the rock Hikaru was leaning on, a confused look on his face.

"Hikaru," he addressed his brother. "What's this?"

The red head started, then turned around and lowered himself to Kaoru's level, narrowing his eyes to examine what his brother was seeing. When his eyes adjusted, Hikaru found a flash of color too artificial and bright to have come from this field of glass. In fact, upon closer inspection, the item appeared to have hearts printed on it.

"What the hell?" he muttered to himself.

"Hey, what are you guys looking at?" Haruhi wandered over to them.

"Not sure," Kaoru answered. "Looks like some kind of cloth, a shirt or something, but why's it buried under this rock?"

Haruhi blinked, and something suddenly clicked in her mind and she gasped, stumbling back.

"What's wrong?" A startled Hikaru asked.

"I-" Haruhi stammered as Tamaki and Kyoya walked over as well. The latter raised an eyebrow at her, then looked to the rock as well, examining what the twins found carefully before straightening up and walking back to her, a severe look on his face.

"Is that what I think it is?" The girl cautiously asked, as though she was dreading the answer.

Kyoya whipped out his cell phone and started dialing.

"Only one way to find out."

* * *

><p><em>MASSIVE BREAK IN MURDER CASE<em>

_The investigation of the murder of Yuriko Tsugumi, thought to have reached a dead end, has finally struck gold with new evidence found in Juuoni Park. An anonymous tip explained the possibility that an article of Tsugumi's clothing had been buried there by the suspect. Forensics has confirmed that the suspects fingerprint's were on the cloth, and his trial is set for…_

Haruhi strayed her eyes away from the computer screen, closing the tab and logging out. The brunette left the school library, wandering the hallway until she located the double doors of the third music room.

'_I hope Kyoya-senpai was right about that call of his being untraceable,' _she thought to herself. She doubted Tamaki or any of the others wanted that kind of attention from the cops. Of course, given this was Kyoya-senpai, she probably didn't have that much to worry about.

She entered the room to find club hours had already started, and after dealing with the admonishing gaze of the bespectacled boy in question, Haruhi walked to her usual table and sat down. Her eyes sought Tamaki at his usual spot, but he had once again foregone it in favor of privacy in the corner, which could only mean one thing. Haruhi watched them only a moment longer, as her first guests of the day had arrived. Haruhi smiled and greeted them warmly.

Meanwhile, the two mediums were having a meeting of their own, though their's wasn't exactly what anyone, even Haruhi, thought. Tamaki had turned the chairs all the way around to face the corner, and went the extra mile by cupping his hand over the phone in his ear.

"It's pretty cool that you guys solved a murder case," Fukui said on the other end.

The blonde chuckled softly.

"Well, it was really Kyoya and Haruhi who did that."

"Hmm…" Fukui muttered, Tamaki was beginning to notice the man did that a lot. "So, last night was kind of a bust, but that doesn't mean we have to give up, right?"

Tamaki opened his mouth, but was cut off by Miyako's glare. He was amazed she could apparently hear Fukui over the phone (then again, he was rather loud today) and she wasn't quite as eager to meet up again as Fukui was. Tamaki coughed, clearing his throat and looking away from the female medium.

"Well, I don't know if we can go with you again… maybe some other time."

He could almost hear Fukui deflating on the other end, but the man perked right back up and gave a hearty laugh that almost required Tamaki to pull the phone away.

"No problem, buddy. Yumi's not really up to it anyway. But hey, I promise we'll find something next, okay? Then we'll prove to the world once and for all that ghosts exist!"

"Sounds great," Tamaki answered while sweat dropping. Miyako could only roll her eyes.

"Yup, it'll be great," Fukui cheered. "Maybe we'll even find some yokai, or a cambion, that's a hybrid between a demon and a human by the way. It'd be great, right Suoh? …Suoh?"

Unfortunately for Fukui, Tamaki couldn't answer him. All the fears that had been implanted in his mind last night came back full force and drove him so deep into the corner, he'd probably have a full mushroom farm growing in less than an hour. Instead, Fukui got to hear the phone get picked up again, and a frustrated female voice addressed him.

"Nice job, do you know how long it's going to take to get him out of there?" Miyako demanded.

The three ghosts were already on the job, but not making much of a difference. Hoki in particular.

"Seriously kid, do you carry mushroom seeds in your pockets for these occasions?"

Miyako heard Fukui gulp.

"Hey, I was just kidding," he amended sheepishly. "Besides, none of that stuff really exists."

Miyako grunted, then bade him a quick farewell and hung up to deal with Suoh.

* * *

><p>Fukui stared at the 'Call End' screen of his cell phone. His lips where pursed, but no sound came out of them. He vaguely heard Yumi's footsteps behind him, but didn't acknowledge her until he felt a warm hand on his shoulder.<p>

"Was that Tamaki-san?"

He nodded. "And Miyako-san. I think I might have upset Tamaki with that demon comment."

Yumi gave a half smile. "Yeah, I heard. But why did you lie to them?"

This time, Fukui did look up, a serious expression only a few people had ever seen him wear.

"It's better to keep them out of _that_," he answered. "Tamaki and Miyako especially. For the time being, they don't need to know."

Yumi didn't completely agree with that, but nodded all the same. Fukui returned her nod, the dark silence between them stayed for several more seconds, until he broke out into an easy grin, almost as if the short exchange with his wife had never happened.

"Okay, I am starved," he clapped his hands together with anticipation.

"Glad to hear it," Yumi brightened up as well. "I'm making stew tonight, the store just got in a shipment of fresh beef."

"Awesome!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So, this chapter is important because we've introduced some things that will be very important later. If you'd like more information on this, please develop telepathy and read my mind.**

**Otherwise, see you next chapter! :)**


	9. A Growing Irritation!

It was a well known fact that the four libraries of Ouran Academy were among the best. Few other schools, public or private, could even hope to compare to their capacity for classic literature and Ph.D. level texts. In addition, each one was a popular spot for students with no extracurricular activities or desire to go home to come and hang out. They relaxed with their friends, chatting and joking and generally doing anything that wasn't studying.

For those who actually _wanted_ to get work done, it was something of a hassle, particularly when said students had to prepare for a test that would count towards a quarter of their grade and had been moved up an entire week without warning. This is what led Tamaki Suoh, Kyoya Ootori and Miyako Kita to hole themselves up in the cornermost table where barely anyone sat; behind an enormous shelf of dictionaries and reference guides that only barely blocked them from the noise.

"Next time, we study somewhere else," Ootori muttered through grit teeth while somewhere near the center of the room, a couple of boys began loudly quoting scenes from a popular shonen anime to the raucous cheers of their friends. "_Anywhere_ else."

His grumbling went unnoticed, as both his study partners were currently engaged in their own, rather one-sided, conversation.

"But you _have_ to come, Miyako," Suoh said, desperately trying to persuade his self proclaimed 'little sister' to see things his way. "The New Year's festival is tradition, and the school goes all out every single year! It would be treasonous not to go."

Though his words sounded big and frightening, Miyako was neither impressed, nor convinced. Letting out a low growl, she pushed her face as far into her book as possible. The print became an unintelligible mess, but it was better than listening to more of Suoh's pointless ranting. Sadly, this action did nothing to discourage him.

"It'll be so much fun," he leaned in closer to Miyako's face. "There'll be games and great food and even a fortune teller. Wouldn't you like to know your future, where you'll be in five years and who you'll marry?"

"Fortune tellers aren't real," her curt response sent the exuberant Suoh crumbling into a pile of dejected dust.

"How can you be so sure?" Elissa cut in, walking away from Hoki and Naru-chan, both of whom were watching the two thespians across the way with rapt attention. "I met plenty of fortune tellers in my time, they gave very accurate descriptions of the prosperous life I would lead."

There were many ways Miyako could have answered that, and everyone who could hear Elissa and see her subsequent dreamy look knew just what they were. Sparing the ghostly woman's feelings, Miyako merely shook her head.

"I spoke to one when I was a kid, and it was good enough as far as I'm concerned," she said, putting down one book and grabbing another from across the table. "She told me that I was destined to fall in love with and marry a man who couldn't die."

Suoh, who had regained his bearing from his fellow medium's verbal smack on the head, blinked in confusion at the bizarre fortune.

"A man… who couldn't die?" he repeated for clarity.

Miyako nodded. "Couldn't die, that's what she told me. It's all a big joke, trust me on that."

Having said her peace, Miyako opened her new book and sharpened a new pencil. It only took half a second for her to realize Suoh was about to start in again. Miyako snapped her head to face him, beating him to the punch.

"I'm just not going."

Suoh pouted and Miyako looked away immediately. She'd been warned countless times by the Hitachiin twins not to get caught in Suoh's 'puppy eyes look.' She didn't know exactly what was so irresistible about it, and honestly believed the twins were exaggerating. Still, she was in no mood to test that theory, and refused to look Suoh in the eye for the rest of their time in the library. She hoped that would be enough for him to see she wasn't kidding and give up already.

What Miyako didn't understand was that the words 'give up' did not exist in the mind of Tamaki Suoh.

* * *

><p>In another part of the building, Haruhi walked down a long hallway to her next class, a Hitachiin twin on either side of her. The two of them had been talking at length about something that had happened at the last fashion show their mother held in Milan (or was it Paris…) and she did her best to listen to most of it. Fashion was never even close to Haruhi's major interest, and so their story of a pushy model complaining about how the color of her scarf didn't match her eyes had little effect on her.<p>

Despite this, she felt no desire to silence them, as this was the first actual conversation she'd had with the twins since her fight with Hikaru several weeks ago. He hadn't spoken to her alone that much in the following days, an oddity that was honestly starting to get to her. Haruhi was glad, then, to see his easy smile as he and his brother finished each other's sentence as they were oft to do.

"…she goes on and on about color scheme and dynamics likes she's some kind of expert…"

"…instead of a half assed excuse of a model Mom's assistant found working as a singing waitress in Hong Kong."

"And _then_ she has the nerve to demand a larger dressing room, because obviously we're going to take out an entire wall…"

"…to make one Prima Donna happy."

"Needless to say, she was fired immediately," they finished together.

Haruhi had to hold back the urge to giggle at the faces they made. What had once annoyed her was starting to become endearing, or maybe that was just the sheer lack of their antics recently catching up to her.

She stared straight ahead at the opposite wall, just in time to catch a trio of shadows slipping up the wall, accompanied by the ringing of girlish laughter. As expected, three girls stepped into view, two of whom Haruhi recognized almost immediately as frequent customers of Hikaru and Kaoru's. From the looks on their faces, they had spotted them as well. It wasn't until they were right in front of each other, when the two girls gasped and began gushing over their two favorite hosts that Haruhi realized their third companion, who stood directly in between and in close quarters with the other two, was someone she'd never seen before.

The girl was short, shorter than Haruhi even. Her black hair was short and layered, the bangs reaching just above her brown eyes. She appeared to be looking in Haruhi's direction, though she made no indication that she had noticed her presence. Haruhi smiled back at her, but still got no response.

_'Is she just rude?'_ Haruhi wondered.

"Oh!" Haruhi jumped when she heard the girl on the left shout.

She and her friend rushed for the new girl, the latter placing a hand on her shoulder and gesturing at Haruhi and the twins.

"These are some of the guys we told you about," the girl said. "You know, from the Host Club."

The new girl's face lit up with recognition.

"Oh really," she said in oddly accented Japanese. "How wonderful! Sugiyama-san and Okino-san were just telling me about your club, it sounds like such fun!"

She clapped her hands together and smiled even wider. Hikaru and Kaoru went into action immediately, probably liking the possibility of getting to a potential new customer before Tamaki could. Those two just loved getting on his nerves, Haruhi thought to herself while sweat dropping.

"It's nice to meet you," Hikaru said, taking her hand. "I'm Hitachiin Hikaru, the oldest of the Hitachiin twins."

"And I'm Kaoru," the younger twin said while gently grasping the new girl's other hand and making her turn her head. "Our friend here is Haruhi Fujioka. It's a pleasure."

The girl blushed deep red. "Why, thank you. I'm Li Tang, and the pleasure is all mine, Hikaru and Kaoru."

The twins put on identical Cheshire cat grins that somehow made Sekiyama and Okino swoon and faint. Having seen that look in very unpleasant contexts, Haruhi had to wonder, not for the first time, what made it so appealing. As the twins continued their wooing (luckily not bothering with the twincest thing for the moment), Sekiyama managed to compose herself and pull Okino back to her feet as well. Once that was done, both girl were all over Hikaru and Kaoru for the second time.

"You should come see us some time," Hikaru said to the still blushing Li. "You can try your hand at the 'Which One Is Hikaru?' Game."

"Ooh, that's a fun one," Sekiyama squealed. "I've never won, but then nobody has except Haruhi-kun here."

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Kaoru grinned at the starstruck girl. "I'm sure you'll get it eventually, right Kaoru?"

"Of course, Hikaru," the actual Hikaru answered.

Haruhi fought and lost an inner battle not to roll her eyes. Of course, she was the only one who realized they were pulling their switch stunt, again. She made a mental note to scold them later for confusing a new student like that, but stopped short when she noticed the look on Li Tang's face.

For some reason, she was staring at Hikaru with obvious confusion. Her brow furrowed as she raised a finger to the older twin's face.

"Wait a minute," she said. "Aren't you Hikaru?"

It seemed to take a few seconds for Hikaru to process that. He went from relaxed to startled in an instant, his eyes darting to the similarly confused Kaoru. Looking back at Li, Hikaru smiled again, though Haruhi noticed there was a bit less relaxation in it.

"What do you mean? I'm Kaoru," he said cheekily. "Good try though, Li-san."

Li blinked, then tilted her head to one side, then shook her head.

"No, you're definitely Hikaru," the surety in her voice was unmistakable, and Haruhi was sure both twins were losing color as the ruse they'd been playing up for so long was effortlessly broken.

They didn't come out of it, even when Sekiyama informed them that they had to leave and continue giving Li the grand tour. As they said their farewells and walked passed them in the opposite direction from whence they came, their voices carried all the way back to Haruhi's ears.

"That was amazing, Li, I've never been able to win the 'Which One Is Hikaru' Game!"

"Why not?" Li sounded genuinely confused. "It's easy to figure out."

Nothing more of their discussion mattered to Haruhi, as her attention was drawn back to Hikaru and Kaoru. They had broken from their stupor and now stared after Li and listened to her waning laughter.

"She knew…" Hikaru muttered in a daze.

Kaoru nodded. "She actually knew…"

Very slowly, the pair turned to face each other, blocking out everything and everyone around them, including Haruhi. There was a brief pause, and then-

"SHE KNEW!"

Their scream was in unison, and loud enough to shake all the nearby windows and send Haruhi flying to the ground with a shriek of her own.

* * *

><p>"I heard the drama club is putting on a show this year."<p>

"No."

"And the culinary club is whipping up a feast of regional dishes from all over the country."

"No."

"And Kyoya and I have been trying to arrange a dance later in the evening."

"Suoh, no."

"…but-"

"NO!" Miyako finally snapped. She whirled around, her face red with anger, and stared into Suoh's eyes with enough rage to send him flying into the corner.

While he sniffled and cried about his 'mean little sister,' Ootori gave a sigh and wearily eyed the girl.

"Was that really necessary?"

Miyako gave him an incredulous look. "Don't act you would have done different, you've been around him far longer and more often than I have."

To that, Ootori clearly had not rebuttal. Even more clearly, he wasn't happy about that fact. Turning away from him, Miyako joined the three ghosts, who were trying to coax Suoh out of his corner. Hoki at one point suggested getting photos of Fujioka in a bathing suit for him, leading to a predictable reaction from a scandalized Elissa. Despite all this, Suoh persisted with his whining and still hadn't come out when Miyako's senses were assaulted by what had to be the loudest voice she'd ever heard.

"HEY, HEY YOU!"

Wincing, she tried to ignore it, praying that it was just some random student calling out to someone down the hall and completely out of her line of sight, instead of what the little voice in her head was telling her it was.

"HEY!" this time, the decidedly female voice was followed by fast and heavy footsteps. "I'M TALKING TO YOU!"

As whoever it was approached, Miyako suppressed a growl and looked at Ootori.

"Tell me you hear that," she all but begged.

In the half second it took for Ootori to process her question and formulate a response, Miyako prayed to God that he would say yes, and possibly confer with her on what an, to put it lightly, unappealing sound this woman's voice was. Hopefully, he would devise a plan to avoid this woman in case she really was talking to them and send her somewhere miles away to find whatever it was she was looking for. If they were lucky, she would never come back.

If only luck were on Miyako's side that day. When she saw Ootori's confused face, she knew that it wasn't.

"Heard what?" he asked.

'_Oh no, oh please no.'_

"Hey!"

Miyako felt an ice cold hand on her back as the ghost forcibly turned her around. Miyako jerked away immediately, rubbing her burning shoulder and wishing not for the first time that ghosts couldn't learn how to touch solid objects. Like her person.

The spirit before her was something of a surprise. She wore clothes the likes of which Miyako had only ever seen at the fashion shows Kyung would sometimes drag her to. In fact, she could've sworn the cloth of her jacket was made of pure gold, it certainly wouldn't have surprised her. The ghost's auburn hair was cut in a bob style, not a single strand out of place. Her small eyes looked practically invisible from the way she was glaring at them. The woman's mouth was pursed so tight, Miyako couldn't see a hint of lip. A low sound came out of her throat, not unlike Fukui-san's verbal tic. Unlike Fukui-san, this woman's sounded more than a little condescending. She wasn't even that tall, and yet she was somehow able to look down her nose at the three of them.

"I've been talking to you," the spirit drawled, widening her eyes. "Are you deaf or just slow in the head?"

The implications of that comment sent Miyako's stomach boiling with fast growing anger. Trying to control the twitch of her eye, she glanced away from the spirit woman at Ootori, who was looking back at her with questioning eyes. Miyako took a deep breath to calm herself.

"It's a spirit," she said out the corner of her mouth. "I think she wants help."

"Damn right, I do," the ghost shouted, stepping close and leaning into Miyako's personal space. "You're the first person I've found that has other ghosts following you, so obviously you're one of those crazy, ghost seeing freaks, right?"

Though there were several ways Miyako could have (and badly wanted to) answered that, she was beaten to the punch by a sudden flash of blonde. It seemed someone had been stirred from their funk by this new development. Miyako could only stare at Suoh's suave expression and closed mouth smile. He looked like the picture of a dashing 'Host Club King,' deeply contrasting the sniveling wreck he'd been mere moments ago.

_'Seriously, how does he do that?'_ she thought to herself. Something told her she'd never get an answer to that question.

"Why madam," Suoh said smoothly, holding out a hand as if to shake. "My colleagues and I would be delighted to assist you in completely your unfinished business. I make it my mission to make sure all spirits in need find their peace, and you are no exception, my dear. First, let me introduce myself, I am-"

"A suck up and a dork?" the ghost interrupted, smirking and snickering to herself at Suoh's loss of color. "Wow, I hit the nail on the head, didn't I?"

Miyako sucked on her lip, gaze going from the shell shocked Suoh, to the silent and observing Ootori, to the three ghosts, none of whom looked particularly pleased with this new spirit's 'assessment' of their friend.

"That lady's mean," Naru-chan declared, pointing at the ghost like this was the most heinous crime anyone could commit.

"Maybe someone should hit _her_ on the head," Hoki muttered in agreement.

To that, Elissa appeared to have no retort of any kind.

"Alright," the ghost said, pushing past Suoh. "Enough chit-chat, I have stuff to do and you guys are gonna help me. The name's Nozomi Akina, I'm from a very rich family. Sort of like yours, only moreso. I need to get to my house as fast as possible, and I don't want any flirty crap from losers like you, blondie."

She poked her finger into Suoh's shoulder, causing his tears to flow faster as he ran for the wall. He would have made it too, were it not for Ootori grabbing his jacket, moving nothing but an arm and looking bored.

Akina eyed Ootori, her condescending smile fading in an instant. She stared at Ootori for another few moments, leaving Miyako confused as to what she was thinking. That question was answered when Akina grinned again, this time in a much different way, and raced to Ootori.

"You however," she said in a husky voice. "Can say whatever you want to me. How about it, handsome?"

She ran a finger across his shoulder, making Ootori gasp and jump back. His eyes darted around in vain for the invisible presence, while Akina watched him, taken aback.

"He can't see you," Miyako explained. "Only Suoh and I can."

"Aaaaw," Akina moaned, deflating like a balloon with a hole in it. She then perked right back up. "Oh well, we can manage."

"How?" the flabbergasted Hoki called out.

He was ignored as Akina turned on a heel and started down the opposite hall, barking orders over she shoulder for them to follow.

"I know you guys aren't that bright, but don't make me wait for you," she shouted.

Grinding her teeth, Miyako started walking. In her mind, she repeatedly counted from 1 to 10, an anger relieving technique Rika had taught her once. Ootori followed close behind, having deduced from Miyako's actions that the ghost wanted them to go somewhere with her. He didn't look too happy, though that was probably because he had to literally drag Suoh along with him. The idiot was sprawled out like a rag doll, his shoes leaving marks in the otherwise flawless carpet. At the very least, his tears had stopped.

"Come on, Tamaki," Ootori grunted at him. "Time to get moving. It's your job to help any and all ghosts, remember?"

"But mother," Suoh whined. "She's so mean to me!"

Ootori growled through his teeth and continued to pull Suoh the rest of the way.

* * *

><p>Haruhi decided around lunch time that Hikaru and Kaoru weren't going to make this an easy day. Not for themselves, not for her, and if she was unlucky enough to run into them again, not for Li Tang.<p>

They'd been in their own shared world ever since the new girl figured out their ruse. Haruhi could admit that it was strange. As far as she knew, this girl had never met the twins before, and had barely even looked at or spoke to them, but somehow it had been enough for her to figure out a difference they claimed only Haruhi herself had ever.

Still, though they had every right to be shocked, Haruhi couldn't call what they were currently doing anything more than overkill.

"Maybe she's a mind reader," Kaoru suggested as he paced the length of the lunch table from left to right.

"If that's true, she'd have had to probe our minds for the information," Hikaru answered, pacing from right to left, yet in sync with his brother. "Who knows what other information she could have gotten?"

They met near the seated Haruhi and stopped, gazing at each other with nervous eyes.

"She might know all our secrets," Kaoru whispered in fear. "Even what happened at the Christmas party five year ago."

Haruhi had no idea what that meant, but from the way Hikaru reacted, his jaw dropping and his face going deathly white, she figured it wasn't a memory they wanted to relive. Having enough of their foolishness, Haruhi stood and pushed her way in between the twins, heedless of their protest.

"That's enough, you guys," she said firmly, positioning herself so she could glare at them both together. "You both know there's no way she could be a mind reader. That's just make believe."

At this, Hikaru raised a patronizing eyebrow.

"Oh, you mean like mediums?"

Haruhi opened her mouth, but not a single rebuttal would come to her. Forced to concede his point, she switched to a different tactic.

"Why don't you consider other explanations first," she said rationally. "Mind reading can be a- a worst case scenario if you will. What else could it be?"

"I have no idea," Kaoru answered with a shrug. "We've already told you, you're the only one who could ever tell the difference between us, Haruhi."

"Right," Hikaru said in agreement. "How long did it take you to figure it out?"

Haruhi thought for a second, going back to her first few days as a host and all the times she interacted with the twins. She hummed under her breath.

"I'd say about a day," she finally answered. "Two tops."

"You see?" they shouted loud enough to garner awkward looks from nearby students. "It took you days. It took Li Tang seconds. It's creepy and it makes no sense!"

"Maybe she's just intuitive," Haruhi tried quickly to appease (and quiet) them. "Or maybe you gave it away yourselves, somehow. If I recall, you weren't wearing your hats when we were talking to her."

The twins seemed to calm down a bit, likely realizing that she was right. Haruhi hoped then that they would give up this paranoia and put Li Tang from their minds. They proved her wrong by becoming thoughtful.

"That could be it," Kaoru said, though Haruhi couldn't be sure who he was talking to. "But maybe we should talk to her again, just to be sure."

"That could be difficult," said Hikaru. "She doesn't have any classes with us so far, and we haven't seen her anywhere else, either."

The identical duo remained deep in thought, while Haruhi itched to get up and walk away before they could pull her into some ridiculous plan to find and interrogate Li Tang. Then she found herself being forced back on her feet by two pairs of arms wrapping around her own.

"Hey, wha-" she cried while struggling futilely.

"No time, Haruhi," Hikaru started.

"We have a new girl to track down," Kaoru finished.

They broke into a sprint, sailing through the cafeteria doors with the screaming Haruhi in tow, and ignorant of the growing number of bewildered students and teacher alike staring after them.

* * *

><p>Finding Akina's house was incredibly easy. Once she supplied the address, it was a simple matter of Kyoya whipping out his laptop and getting to work.<p>

"Found it yet?" Miyako asked, coming to look over Kyoya's shoulder while Tamaki strived to maintain a safe distance from Akina.

Kyoya said nothing at first, typing at lightning speed and then pressing a single key on his keyboard.

"It's printing now."

Sure enough, the Shadow King's portable printer came alive and spat out two pieces of paper with directions printed on the downside. Kyoya pulled them out and politely turned them over to Miyako, who had already gotten in touch with Kenji and told him to hurry over.

Akina, meanwhile, had eyes only for Kyoya.

"I love a man who can work technology," she sighed longingly.

Beside her, Elissa furrowed her brow.

"Printing out something impresses you?" she asked, staring at Akina like she was something from another planet. "I was under the impression that anyone could do that."

Akina looked away from Kyoya for the first time in twenty minutes, frowning deeply at her fellow ghost.

"And I was under the impression that your dress was hideously unflattering," she sniffed. "But up close, I can see you're just fat."

A funny sound escaped Elissa's throat, an odd mixture between a gasp, a cry and a yell. Not a single word followed before a brown haired bullet zoomed into view, rage filled eyes rounding on Akina.

"Hey, where the hell do you get off talking to her like that?" Hoki seethed, sending the startled Akina back a couple of steps. "You're lucky I don't hit girls, or I'd give you one right in the eye!"

"Hoki!" Elissa shouted, both shocked and amazed at her supposed enemy's behavior.

"Relax, I got this," Hoki waved her off, not daring to take his eyes off Akina.

The two ghosts continued, steadfastly refused to surrender the glaring contest to their opponent. The stunned Elissa grabbed Naru and pulled her away so she wouldn't see anymore, and sent a pleading look at Tamaki.

He stared right back, barely hesitating before his earlier fears of Akina took a back seat to the need to end this before someone really did get physically attacked.

"Alright, that's enough," he called out. Initially, this did nothing to get either ghost's attention, then Tamaki waved his hands in their faces, snapping them out of whatever trance they'd been in. "There's no need to fight. We're all friends here and we're trying to help Akina-san find her peace of mind so she can move on."

"I know exactly were she's going," Hoki said through grit teeth.

"Hoki," Tamaki snapped as his fists clenched and started to shake. "Don't say things like that ever again. Now go play with Naru-chan if you can't get along with Akina-san."

Though taken aback by the sudden harshness Tamaki was displaying, Hoki quietly obeyed. He did cast Akina one final warning glare upon passing her by. She countered with a triumphant smile.

Forcing any negative thoughts from his mind, Tamaki nodded at Akina and put on a smile.

"Well, my friend Kyoya has managed to find your house," he explained. "We have a free period and no other classes afterwards, so we'll be leaving right away, how does that sound?"

Akina's glare faded, replaced by a snobbish frown as she turned her nose up to him.

"Whatever, you just keep doing your dorky little ghost thing. I'll be over by the cool guy."

She practically floated over to Kyoya, leaning over his face and eyeing him in a very uncivilized manner. Tamaki felt like going off to cry again, when he caught sight of a familiar head of black hair in his peripheral vision. He turned slightly, Miyako coming into view and her barely suppressed anger painfully obvious. A new type of fear entered Tamaki's mind when he realized a very familiar aura was coming off his little sister. Kenji and Rika's terror filled faces crashed into the front of his mind. Their explanation ringing in his ears.

"The Black Aura of Doom," he squeaked out, pushing himself as far up against a pillar as he could, which wasn't even close to far enough away. He pushed and pushed, never once thinking to simply move around the stationary structure.

Realizing he had to do something fast, Tamaki braced himself, then shot out from his hiding place and ran to Kyoya, who was going over something on his computer and utterly oblivious to Akina's hunger filled eyes on him.

"Psst, Kyoya," Tamaki hissed as he crouched down low and out of Miyako's line of sight. "I need to talk to you."

Unfortunately, this got the wrong person's attention.

"Buzz off," Akina sneered, leering down at him with a vague sense of threat about her. "Handsome here is busy."

"But I need to talk to him," Tamaki answered desperately.

This did penetrate Kyoya's focus, as he sighed angrily and looked away from the screen at Tamaki.

"What is it?" he asked boredly.

"We need to find some way to calm Miyako," Tamaki summed in up fast. "Otherwise, she may activate her Black Aura of Doom and then who knows what will happen!"

Tamaki curled up in a ball, horrible images of Miyako with a completely black face and evil red eyes assaulted his mind's eye. Kyoya was unimpressed.

"Let me guess," he said briskly. "We'll be… _doomed_?"

Tamaki nodded rapidly.

He heard Kyoya sigh exasperatedly, followed by an entirely new, unfamiliar, but no less unwanted sound.

"Haha," Akina laughed loudly, pointing at Tamaki's shaking form with mirth. "What a spineless wimp you are. Jesus, do you even _have_ any balls?"

**SLAM**

Everyone except Kyoya shot to attention. Even Tamaki found himself craning his neck to look at Miyako, her hand resting on the wall she'd just punched. Though she rubbed her hand in pain upon removing it, her eyes never lost their fire as she clenched a cell phone in her hurt hand.

"Kenji called," she said curtly. "He's waiting out front. Let's go."

Miyako turned on a heel without waiting for anyone to respond. Hoki was the first to go after her, making sure not to look anywhere in Akina's direction as he did so, perhaps to prevent another stare off. When Kyoya shut down his laptop and stood as well, Tamaki finally gathered the strength to pull himself up. He was the last to exit the Third Music Room, his fearful eyes targeted on the back of Miyako's head. He quickened the pace a bit, passing all four ghosts and Kyoya, leaving him side by side with Miyako.

He could've sworn he heard her counting something, but he had no idea what.

* * *

><p><em>'I knew this was going to be a bad day.'<em>

Haruhi stared flatly at the walls, doors and passing students as the twins dragged her into an empty classroom. Hikaru slammed and locked the door, leaving Kaoru to pull out a chair for Haruhi before sinking into one himself. His brother soon joined them, remaining close to Kaoru so they could properly delibarate their next move and ignore every attempt Haruhi made to convince them to stop.

"It's like she doesn't even go here at all," Hikaru muttered with evident frustration. "We must have gone over the entire layout of this building twice and we still can't find her!"

"Maybe she's in class," Haruhi dully suggested. "You know, like we should be. Our lunch period ends in ten minutes." 'And I will not be late just because you two are losing your minds.'

"That's not important," Hikaru said, waving his hand dismissively. "No, we have to find that Li Tang and figure out what she knows, before something even worse happens."

Haruhi raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

Hikaru, though initially looking ready to give a firm response, said absolutely nothing. Instead, he let his mouth hang open and darted his eyes this way and that, as if a suitable answer could be found in an empty math lab with half erased equations on the chalkboard and the textbooks stored away in cabinets.

"Well…" he started, his eyes not even close to Haruhi anymore.

"Hey, look!"

Kaoru's shout and subsequent pointing brought Haruhi and Hikaru's attention away from each other and towards the large window on the other side of the room. Haruhi found what Kaoru wanted them to see fast and her annoyed groan was out even faster.

Li Tang, alone on a bench in the courtyard and talking on the phone. The twin's were up and out of the room in an instant, though Haruhi was relieved they didn't stop to grab her first. She followed at her own pace, walking outside to find them hiding behind the fountain, watching Li intently as she finished up her conversation and stuck the cell phone in her pocket.

"Go on, go talk to her," Kaoru said just as Haruhi came into earshot.

"Why don't you?" Hikaru shoot back, glaring at his brother.

Kaoru sighed exasperatedly. "Well, someone has to."

The two of them alternated between staring at each other and at Li, going on for several minutes without doing anything else. By now, Haruhi had had just about enough of the twins and their antics. She scrunched her eyes closed tightly, exhaling through her nose as her legs started moving.

She heard Hikaru and Kaoru calling her back, their voices barely above a whisper and yet somehow still audible even as she closed in on Li. The foreign girl was staring off into space, her open palms resting against cool metal. She looked very peaceful, Haruhi noted. So peaceful, in fact, that she didn't even acknowledge Haruhi's presence until the latter coughed.

"Oh, hello," Li said, looking up and smiling politely. "Sorry, didn't notice you there. Can I help you?"

Haruhi furrowed her brow slightly. For some reason, Li didn't appear to be looking directly at her, almost like she was addressing an invisible someone several inches to Haruhi's right. The girl considered that briefly, remembering all the crazy ideas Hikaru and Kaoru had come up with to explain her bizarre knowledge of them. Then she realized exactly what she was coming close to taking seriously and brushed away all notions of 'mind reading' and the like. There was a perfectly logical explanation for how Li had known the difference between Hikaru and Kaoru. Now it was time to find out what it was.

Haruhi coughed again.

"It's Li Tang, right?" she stated more than asked. "I'm Haruhi Fujioka, we met a few hours ago."

Li blinked twice, then let out a gasp. "Oh right, I remember you. You were with those twins, right?"

"That's right," Haruhi nodded, pleased that this was so far going well and hoping Hikaru and Kaoru were doing as she suspected and listening in. "I'm a member of the same club as them. Anyway, I just wanted to ask-"

"You mean the Host Club?"

Haruhi was taken aback, more by the bafflement in Li's tone than that she'd actually said, although that contributed.

"Yeah, it's a Host Club," she tentatively answered. "Why do you ask?"

Li brought a finger to her chin and shrugged. "Well, I hope I'm not offending you, but I didn't think a host club would let girls join. Or are you a hostess?"

The reaction to Li's question was instantaneous, and proved Haruhi right that the twins were listening in. Like jackels on the prowl, they hurled themselves out from behind a tree and landed together behind Haruhi. She could barely register the panic on their faces before they grabbed her and pushed her behind their backs, heedless of her angered cries. Li just sat quietly, likely too flabbergasted to do anymore than watch the spectacle before the twins finally addressed her.

"We don't know what you're talking about," Hikaru said slowly and far too loud to effectively portray calm.

"That's right," Kaoru continued as if on cue. Unlike his brother, he poorly covered his anxiety with a ear to ear toothy grin that would probably be more useful to the killer in a slasher film. "Haruhi here is, in fact, a guy. He was born one and he has all the parts and everything. That's for sure!"

"It sure is," Hikaru finished.

Haruhi had to stand on tip toe's to get good view of Li. The girl's expression hadn't changed much. She was still staring at them in that odd way of her and looking no less confused than when this whole thing had started.

"I don't understand," she said after a long pause. "Are you trying to pretend she's a boy for some reason?"

"She_ is_ a boy!" Hikaru shouted back, becoming defensive as he rounded on the unfazed girl. His face then went pale as he realized far too late what he'd just said. "Er, HE is a boy!"

Kaoru face palmed.

Li appeared thoughtful during all this, her face lighting up as she came to some sort of understanding.

"Oh, I think I get it," she said, snapping her fingers. "You're keeping Fujioka-san's gender a secret!"

Two mouths collectively fell open, but all that came out was a high pitched hissing.

"It seems weird, but I guess you guys have your reasons," Li obliviously went on. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. I'm great at keeping secrets!"

Further conversation was deterred when Sekiyama and Okino ran over, apologizing to Li for leaving her alone and ready to escort her to their next class. The three girls said their goodbyes and left, though Sekiyama and Okino took lingering looks at their favorite hosts, likely wondering why they were frozen in shock and why Haruhi was so annoyed by it.

Haruhi had no idea what to do as the school's enormous clock tower ticked closer and closer to the bell's ring. Hikaru and Kaoru didn't appear to be conscious of the outside world at the moment, and this was only confirmed when Hikaru suddenly regained the ability to speak.

"She _is _a mind reader," he said in terror.

Haruhi groaned and did a face palm of her own. She and the twins would be late to class that day.

* * *

><p>As expected, Akina's home was a mansion roughly as large as those owned by Tamaki and his friends, though Akina insisted hers was bigger. The ghost had in fact continued her rude streak the entire drive over, criticizing everything from Miyako's hairstyle ("Why don't you just put all your hair into a bun instead of just a section? Not that it would help your appearance all that much") to Kenji's driving ("Does this person even have a liscense, that's the third red light he's almost missed. I demand that you fire him at once!"). Only Kyoya was free of her wrath, and got periodic compliments and lustful stares that left Hoki gagging. For once, it appeared he wasn't joking. Tamaki had given up trying to explain to her that Kyoya wasn't sensitive to spirits like her after one too many snide insults. Now he just kept his eyes on Miyako, discreetly gauging for her reaction to all this and making sure she didn't get too much closer to the Black Aura of Doom. Already, she was staring out the corner of her eye at Akina as the ghost ranted about clothing store they just passed. Miyako was already fuming, and Tamaki was sure he saw her eye twitch a couple of times.<p>

Luckily, they finally made it to Akina's home around this time, around ten minutes later than Kyoya had estimated. It seemed Akina had gone a lot further from home than she let on.

One thing the moody ghost wasn't lying about was her home. The mansion like house stuck out amongst a suburban street, gating off and resting on a small hill, several expensive looking cars lining the driveway. Tamaki noted, however, that his home was almost definitely larger, as were Kyoya and Miyako's. In fact, he doubted Akina was as wealthy as she claimed to be.

After relying the password to the gate to Kyoya, the group walked inside and followed the eager Akina up the steps and into her home. It appeared no one was around, which struck Tamaki as odd, but he knew not to question their good fortune. There were only 25 minutes left until their free period ended and they had no time to come up with a cover story.

Akina either didn't know this or didn't care. She sped up the stairs and down the hall out of sight. Only her continued yelling let them know were she was.

"Oh thank god they didn't touch my perfumes. I swear that one maid had her eye on them. As if a fresh scent could make up for that icky scar on her neck, ugh. Scents that expensive are too good for lower class dirt anyway."

She fell silent, though was likely still rummaging through her things. Tamaki heard some clothes being shuffled through and leaned over.

"She sure is adjusting to ghost life well," he said to Miyako. "She can even move things already."

"Cause she's not thinking about it," Hoki jumped in, glaring at the top of the staircase. "I don't know how she can think _anything_ with her head so far up her ass."

Beside him, Naru blinked in confusion.

"Mr. Hoki, what's a ass?"

The silence that followed was incredibly awkward and involved everyone who could see him staring at Hoki. Elissa looked close to slapping him again.

"Uh…" Hoki said lamely. "It's a… kind of horse."

"Idiot," muttered Elissa.

Akina skidded back into view, mercifully ending the conversation there. She descended the stairs two at a time, looking no less haughty, but a great deal relieved as well.

"Looks like they haven't touched my stuff yet," she said. "Even my Great Seiya poster is still there. I swear, mother and father had better leave my stuff alone. Knowing them, they'd give them to some stupid charity and gross homeless people will get my designer clothes all dirty."

Akina shuddered, as if the very idea of such a thing made her physically ill.

"Why do care so much?" the incredulous Hoki asked. "You can't wear them anymore."

Akina sniffed and waved her hand. "What do you know? The way you dress, you were probably still some commoner in life. My clothes are made the most well known designers in Milan and Paris. Their creations are only suited for a high class woman like myself. Middle class riff raff would be an insult and don't even get me started on poor people."

As if losing interest in her speech, Akina stopped and walked away, muttering to herself about checking the bathroom for her make up. Tamaki stared after her without a clue what to say.

He'd always been taught that every woman is beautiful in some way, and sometimes you had to dig deep to find it. This Akina woman, loathed he was to admit it, would probably require a full team of large digging machines to find anything good in her personality. Tamaki began to shiver, and realized all too late that it wasn't because of his sad revelation. Miyako's face was turned away from him, likely following Akina as she went on and on about her clothes and thing. Tamaki sprang back, her aura was darkening more and more every second. Only a little bit more, and-

"Tamaki."

"GAAH!"

Tamaki jumped several feet in the air and landed on his back, moaning in pain while the three ghosts stared at him. Kyoya was unperturbed as ever. He waited for Tamaki to pick himself back up before raising his watch bearing wrist into Tamaki's face.

"We only have a few more minutes if we're going to get back on time," he explained. "I suggest you let Nozomi-san know."

Tamaki nodded, though he really had no idea what he could do to make Akina warm up to him. If only Kyoya had the power he did, she liked him after all. She'd probably listen to him no matter what he said.

"I say we leave without her!" Hoki called out.

"Normally, I'd say you're a horrible cretin," Elissa started, sounding as though she was barely containing anger. "But today, I'm inclined to agree."

"She's a super meanie!" Naru declared, crossing her arms and turning her face away.

"Now, now, you three," Tamaki said, a poor attempt at appeasing them. "Akina-san came to us for help, and while she may be a bit… well… abrasive, let's say, it's our job to make sure she finishes all her earthly business so she can move on to a better place."

Hoki glanced down, shaking his head. "I don't know about that, kid. Doesn't sound like much fun, the place she's probably heading."

This time, Elissa really did get angry.

"Alright," Miyako's voice made Tamaki's skin crawl. It may have just been him, but she sounded deeper all of a sudden. Scary even. "I think it's time we leave. Akina-san!"

The ghost, having moved from the bathroom to the sitting room to examine her collection of decorative plates, didn't give even the slightest sign that she had heard Miyako. It was likely she just didn't care to listen.

Grinding her teeth audibly, Miyako tried again. "Akina-san, please come here!"

Akina began humming something right then, a song Tamaki believed he'd heard on the radio once or twice, but that he couldn't quite place. It wasn't important anyway. Miyako was getting angrier now, and it was taking everything Tamaki had in him not to grab Kyoya and run.

"Akina-san," she said a third time. "…Ootori over here wants to see you!"

"WHERE?"

Akina appeared as if by teleportation, standing so close to Kyoya that the Shadow King visibly shivered and backed away into a wall.

"Please get her away from me," he calmly yet firmly demanded of Tamaki.

Shrinking under his best friend's glare, Tamaki put on his best charming smile and stepped closer.

"Akina-san, I'm afraid our time here has been cut short," he explained, his Host persona easily overtaking him as Akina stared at him in wonder. "You have a lovely home, and we'll gladly take you again later if you need it, but if not, I'd like you to know that it was an honor meeting you, and-"

"Oh my GOD, could you be anymore fake?" Akina said before bursting out laughing. "I bet you've never even had a real date. And here I thought you couldn't be more of a loser."

Tamaki didn't hear most of this, as he'd retreated to the corner and was crying his eyes out, his spirit completely broken.

"That's not true," he sobbed. "Haruhi loves me!"

Akina snorted, her mirth fading away as she turned and found Miyako glowering at her, her eyes strangely dark, or so it seemed.

"Akina-san, that was rather rude, don't you think," Miyako said in a low voice. "Suoh and I are just trying to help you after all."

"Help me?" Akina repeated with a grin. "That's funny. Newsflash: I don't need any help, I just needed a ride home because I was lost. If anything, I'd say you're the one who needs some help. Haven't you ever heard of acne cream, Pizza-Face?"

Tamaki felt it immideatly. Perhaps it was his earlier experience leaving him more sensitive to it's power, but he knew the very moment that it happened, and his gut dropped all the way down. Despite the overwhelming fear, he managed to stand and turn around. Hoki was the first one he saw, cowering in the corner and clutching Elissa and Naru tightly to his chest. Tamaki made shot across the room, grabbing the unsuspecting Kyoya and roughly pulling him away from Miyako and Akina.

"Tamaki," Kyoya sputtered when he was finally released. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Saving our lives," Tamaki countered. "It's happened, just as I feared."

This and his fearful shivers bought him no sympathy from Kyoya, who still didn't understand what was happening. All he got was an eye roll and a shake of the head before both pairs of eyes went to Miyako.

Though the bright yellow of her Ouran uniform did dull the effect somewhat, her Black Aura was as strong as ever. Akina even looked slightly intimidated, though she masked it well.

"Look," Miyako spoke sharply. "I don't know what your problem is, but you have been nothing but rude and obnoxious when all we are doing is trying help you. I dealt with it before, but now, I am sick of it. I don't want to hear another word out of your mouth."

"W-wait a minute," Akina's supposed bravery was hindered by a quivering in her voice. "You can't just-"

"If you must talk," Miyako went on, silencing Akina with almost no effort. "I only want to hear an apology to me, or to Suoh, or to Elissa, or to all of us in general. Otherwise, keep your mouth shut, got it?"

Her aura flared, and Tamaki had no idea if it was real or just his imagination. The look of fear dawning on Akina's face was real, that he was sure of, as was the deathly glare Miyako wore. He glanced to the side, to find Kyoya watching with a calmness only he could accomplish. Surely he was being affected by the Black Aura somehow. But Tamaki couldn't read his friend's face at the moment. He could only go back to the important matter at hand, in time to see the fearful Akina's haughty mask form cracks. She gulped first, then coughed, then straightened on her feet.

"O-okay," she said without looking anywhere near Miyako's eyes. "I think I'm done here. You know, unfinished business and all that. I'm just going to go now, so uh… bye and uh… sorry?"

The last part was directed at Miyako's who narrowed her eyes even more if that were possible, earning a squeak from Akina as the ghost backed up. Her body started to fade at that moment, and Tamaki wasn't terribly surprised that no white light accompanied it. Akina flashed a nervous grin just before completely vanishing. Now alone in the center, Miyako let out a breath, the blackness going away as well. Though still getting over the crippling fear, Tamaki approached her, placing a hand on her shoulder and letting her turn to face him. He smiled.

"Rough day, huh?"

She gave him a look, but said nothing.

"That was quite a display, Ms. Kita," Kyoya said, walking over casually. "I don't know what Akina-san said to deserve it, but I assume it had the desired effect?"

"She's gone," Miyako confirmed with a nod. "Good riddance, too."

"Hmm…" Kyoya muttered and Tamaki noticed than that he was still shivering slightly, an after effect of Akina's repeated attempts at contact, no doubt. "Indeed."

They left the house quickly, nothing was keeping them back anymore. Kenji was asleep behind the wheel, but a shake from Miyako got him up and ready to go. The engines had started when Tamaki caught sight of his little sister leaning heavily against the wall, her eyes drooping. An idea formed in his mind, even though his rarely acknowledged rational side told him it wasn't a good idea.

"You know, Miyako, we get worn out a lot doing this work," he started, leaning over Kyoya to get a better look at her. "We could use some relaxation every now and then. A little fun, let's say."

"I'm still not going to the festival, Suoh."

Tamaki's body jerked back, slamming against the window with cartoonish force.

"KYOYAAAAA," he sobbed, grabbing his friend by the shoulders. "DO YOU HEAR THAT? OUR DARLING LITTLE SISTER IS SO SAD AND SHE'S REJECTING MY PURE BROTHERLY LOVE FOR HER! WHY IS SHE SO COLD?"

Kyoya pushed Tamaki back into his seat. The Host King's cries of sorrow went unheeded the entire rest of the way.

* * *

><p>A new day at Ouran had dawned, and for Haruhi, it appeared she would be spending it on another endless wild goose chase for Hikaru and Kaoru's newest object of interest. Ever since they'd decided Li Tang was probably a mind reader, they had been going on and on about what to do with the knowledge and how best to approach Li about it. They gone so far as to call her while she was trying to finish a big essay to debate with her on it.<p>

"We should try to find her in the courtyard again," they eventually agreed. "If she was there yesterday, there's a chance she may come back."

Haruhi noted after they simultaneously hung up that she'd given very little input into this conversation, and she felt a headache coming on that wasn't helped much when Tamaki called barely minutes later to tell her about the ghost he'd met today and kept her on the phone for well over an hour.

She'd been left to stay up well into the night finishing her assignment, and didn't even try to hold back her yawning as she stood of to the side with Hikaru and Kaoru, watching Li Tang sit with her head held high and a book in her lap.

"I knew she'd be here," Hikaru said. "Now we just have to find out how much she really knows."

"I'm not sure I want to talk to her again," Kaoru admitted, edging back a little. "I don't want to believe she's got some kind of mind power, but it's creepy how she can figure these things out so fast."

Hikaru clicked his tongue. "At the very least, we have to make sure she keeps Haruhi's secret." He paused to place a comforting hand on his brother's shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll go talk to her myself."

Kaoru's eyes widened. "But Hikaru, what if-"

"I'll be fine," he said, smiling reassuringly. "Just stay with Haruhi, it'll be alright."

He turned his back to them and moved with purpose to the other side of the square. Kaoru stood close to Haruhi, watching intently with fear as his brother faced the bizarre new girl.

Hikaru was feeling a degree of fear himself, though he hid it well. He knew rationally that Li Tang probably wasn't a mind reader. How many people could really have psychic powers anyway? Sure there was the Boss and Miyako-senpai, but that was just two people, and they could only talk to dead people, not invade his mind or anything.

Around this time, Hikaru became aware that he was standing directly in front of Li and had been for almost a minute without saying a word. Heat rushed to his faced and he coughed with embarrassment. This action seemed to bring Li out of her thoughts, as she suddenly moved her head and smiled.

"Oh, hello, Hikaru," she greeted him. "It's okay that I call you that, right?"

"Uh…" Hikaru said dumbly. "No, that's fine. I just wanted to talk to you about a few things." _'Like how you figured out the difference between me and Hikaru AND how you knew Haruhi is a girl for starters.'_

Li tilted her head to one side, taking on an odd expression that Hikaru couldn't place. "Sounds good, but can you wait just a second, I'm at a really exciting chapter of my book."

Hikaru furrowed his brow, eyes instinctively dropping to the book he could clearly see she wasn't looking at. He then had to close and open them again several times, needing time to fully register what he was looking at.

"What are you talking about?" he asked slowly. "That book is blank."

"No it isn't," Li said with a smile. "See?"

Her hand wrapped around his before Hikaru could stop her. She dragged it down to the book and ran his fingers across the page. To his surprise, Hikaru felt a sequence of bumps lining the paper.

"Braille?" he said to himself as understanding hit. His eyes bugged out, the revelation turning everything that had happened since yesterday on it's head. He leaned closer, gazing into her clear brown eyes that took nothing in.

"Li…" he said in a far off voice. "Are you… you…?"

A smile crept onto her face, and she giggled airily while setting the book down at her side.

"I'm surprised you didn't know," she said him honestly. "I thought everyone did. Yes, I am blind, and I don't mind you saying it. I was born this way and I'm not ashamed."

"But…" Hikaru could feel his brain breaking from the overload. "But… you knew… you could… you knew the difference between… and Haruhi… how, just- HOW?"

She didn't react to his shouting, though others, including Kaoru and Haruhi, did. Li's sightless eyes moved down, as if she were deep in thought.

"Well, obviously I can't say much about how you and your brother _look_," she said. "But you certainly don't _sound_ the same. Your voice is deeper than Kaoru's and you tend to speak louder. As for Fujioka, well, I know I've never heard a guy over 12 with a voice like that."

"But…" Hikaru stopped and swallowed, breathing deeply and clearing his thoughts so he could hopefully not say anything offensive. "You don't have- you know, you're eyes don't look-"

He started to motion at his own eyes, but stopped upon remembering that wouldn't help his case. Luckily Li seemed to pick up what he was trying to say, whether because of past experience with this kind of question or just being intuitive, he didn't know.

"Well, lots of blind people don't show any outward signs," she said with a shrug. "I guess I'm just one of them. My mom always goes on about how lucky I am because my eyes are so beautiful. But that's just my mom, of course."

The clock tower went off right then and there, declaring the free time before classes began over. Li quickly responded to it, gathering her books and grabbing a cane from next to her chair. Hikaru couldn't believe he didn't see it before.

"Like my new cane," Li held it up to show him. "My old one broke the day before school and I lost my spare."

Hikaru eyed it briefly, taking in the shiny silver metal decorated with what looked like children's stickers.

"It's nice," he said stiffly.

Li's ever present smile brightened as she started to walk away. She stopped after only two steps and turned back around.

"I almost forgot," she said. "About Fujioka, I figured from your actions yesterday that you were keeping her gender a secret. I don't really get why, but I promise I won't tell anyone and I won't ask any questions."

Hikaru nodded, finding himself unable to say anything or even look away from her. Then he caught himself a second time and cleared his throat.

"Sounds good, thank you."

As she left for real and the courtyard slowly emptied of students off to start the day, Kaoru and Haruhi moved out of hiding, the former wearing a look of shock only a little bit softer than his brother's.

"I can't believe it," Kaoru said softly. "All this time… she's been blind?"

"That does explain a lot," Haruhi muttered, mostly to herself.

Hikaru was silent, then gave a relieved chuckle and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I guess she really wasn't a mind reader. Thank god for that."

"I know," answered an equally eased Kaoru. "I was scared for a minute that she would find out about the Christmas party."

Hikaru nodded, having forgotten about that little fear and now feeling even better. At least until Haruhi gave them a look of unmistakable curiosity.

"You two mentioned that yesterday," she said. "What did happen at this Christmas party?"

Hikaru's insides froze. He turned to Kaoru, silently begging him for help and found him doing the exact same thing. Their gazes lingered as they attempted to gauge each other's current thought process. Then Hikaru turned back around, his mouth moving against his will.

"Well… it's a funny story," he stammered, earning a suspicious frown from Haruhi. "See, Kaoru and I were at this party minding our own business, when uh… when all of a sudden- OH MY GOD, LOOK AT THAT THING!"

Haruhi didn't look, but Hikaru ran anyway, Kaoru hot on his tail. She watched, sighing and shaking her head, as the pair re-entered the school, sprinting past several windows and out of sight.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Those last few lines were far more difficult than they should have been. **

**Glad to have finally gotten this chapter written. The next one will be the start of something very big. I've been looking forward to writing it for so long. It's very exciting.**

**Also, if you're wondering what happened to Hikaru and Kaoru at the Christmas party... keep wondering. :D**


	10. Daredevil, The Great Seiya!

**A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long, I was having some computer problems. Luckily, I was able to get it fixed and not lose any of my document files in the process. Unluckily, it took days to get the necessary disks because this happened the day before New Year's Eve.**

**With that in mind, I hope you all have a great 2012! :)**

* * *

><p>Wind blew through his hair, gently tickling at the nape of his neck. His smiled softly, enjoying the feel of it. He loved nights like this, not too cold, but still with a distinctive air that signaled the coming winter. He turned his eyes to the starry sky that he studied every night until the need for sleep overwhelmed him.<p>

He shifted positions, sitting on his right leg before the left could fall asleep. Closing his eyes, he was content with laying under this tree all night, listening to the wind and the running water behind him and the hooting of a nearby owl.

Tomorrow, he'd have to go back to his day job, what a pain _that_ would be. His head, chest and behind hurt just thinking about it. But that was a while away, and for right now, he could be at peace with himself and with his life. This was by far his favorite part of the day.

Another gust of wind hit him, but a cold chill ran up his spine for a much different reason. His eyes snapped open, recognition hitting him before he'd even seen anything. A loud crack rang out, ruining his beautiful peace. His neck snapped up, taking just enough time to note the heavy branch barely hanging on by a few twigs, before it started to fall.

Honed reflexes sprung into action, and he shot forward, putting all his weight on his hands. He rolled over, doing an awkward flip as the branch smacked to the ground where he had once been sitting. Breathing heavily, he stumbled to his feet, surveying the scene with a growing sense of ire. He could feel eyes on him from behind, something else he'd gotten used to after so many years of this.

"You're going to have to do better than that," he cried out over the wind that roared louder. "You're losing your touch!"

The remaining branches shook harder. If he didn't know any better, he'd say they were answering him, but then he wouldn't put much above his bothersome friend. He shook his head and started walking, the cool breeze he'd once enjoyed becoming unpleasant all of a sudden.

'_And yet another perfectly good night is ruined,' _he added in his thoughts. _'I actually might have been able to stay awake this time too…'_

* * *

><p>The accident had happened over a week ago. By the time Tamaki and Miyako found themselves there, the wreckage of the car and everything inside it had long been removed. Not a speck of blood or even foreign dirt could be found anywhere in the immediate area. The clean-up crews had done a very thorough job, that was for sure.<p>

None of this did much to relieve Tamaki's nausea. He wished he had a pair of horse blinders he could wear, anything so that he wouldn't have to look around and imagine the horrible way the car must have bent around that lamp post. He kept his body stiff, refusing to look away from the ghostly, smiling face of the woman before him.

"We'll see to it that your boyfriend receives the message," Miyako said. "You can count on us."

"I can't thank you enough," she said, clasping her hands together. "I think now I can finally rest peacefully."

He'd heard that line many times now, so much that it was fast becoming a cliché. But it never failed to bring a warmth to Tamaki, setting him more or less at ease. He relaxed a little, a calm overcoming him.

"It's our pleasure," he answered. "I think I can speak for Miyako here when I say that nothing brings us more joy than to see lovely spirits such as yourself so happy."

The ghost made a face he often saw on his client's. He imagine she would be turning bright red right now if she still could.

"Thank you," she said again. "You're too kind. I just hope Shiro-chan can move on and find someone else."

She became wistful upon bringing up her boyfriend. Tamaki could feel his own eyes clouding with tears at the mere sight of her sadness. It made him think of Haruhi, and how devastated he would be if he ever lost her. He couldn't and wouldn't try to picture it. Instead, he thought of her happy, smiling face and how much he looked forward to seeing it on their date tonight. A familiar light shined down right then, and the ghost was engulfed in it, disappearing with time to give only a nod in farewell.

Tamaki became aware of hard eyes on him once the light was gone. He turned, and his smile and general cheery mood faded when he saw Miyako's dry frown.

"We're not hosting, you know," she said. "You don't need to get all flirty like that with dead women."

Tamaki felt like her words were stabbing into him, causing physical pain that existed only in his overactive imagination. He followed Miyako to the car, his own today, and watched her closely as the engine started and the trees began to blur together. The first thing Tamaki assured himself of was that no blackness surrounded Miyako, meaning there was currently no danger. Then he studied her body language, her lidded eyes and her head resting on the palm of her hand. That was strange, she usually had better posture than this.

"Are you okay?" he tentatively asked, reaching out slowly when he got no answer. "Miyako?"

He tapped her so gently it was like touching air, and yet she still jumped to attention muttering incoherently before looking at Tamaki.

"Suoh," she said, her words slurring a bit. "What are you doing?"

Ignoring the severity of her tone, Tamaki inched closer.

"You don't look too good," he said with concern.

She 'hmed' and rubbed her eyes hard, as if just now waking up from a long sleep. Miyako inhaled slowly and deeply through her nose, not removing her hands until she was ready to let out the breath.

"I'm fine," she said. "I didn't get much sleep last night, that's all."

"Are you sure?" Tamaki pressed.

Miyako gave him a look, but there was nothing behind it. No fire, no anger, nothing. Tamaki could only stare right back. It looked like she really _did_ need some more sleep.

"I'm sure," she answered, looking away from him and out her window. "I just want to spend the day in peace, and then go home."

The car drove past familiar landmarks- a bank, a bento shop, a large tree that desperately needed trimming- all the way down to the entrance gate of Ouran Academy. Even from there, Tamaki could easily spot the crowd of (mainly female) students gathered around the square. He could even hear their voices, all speaking and squealing with enough volume to be potentially heard from space. Tamaki wasn't the only one to notice either, as an audible groan alerted him to.

"Why did I say that?" Miyako asked herself, replacing her hand on her forehead.

"What's going on out there?" Tamaki wondered aloud, pressing his face against the cold glass to get a better look.

The car drove down the stretching path, alongside identical limousines, many of whom's occupants sprang out the door and into the dense crowd the very moment the vehicle came to a halt. Now up close the sea of voices, both loud and small, were honestly starting to make Tamaki's ears hurt. He found he couldn't blame her when Miyako started fishing through her school bag, repeating 'earplugs' over and over again with increasing veracity.

The noise only grew worse when Tamaki stepped out of the car. His eyes clenched shut, though it obviously had no effect on the volume. He didn't even hear Hoki coming up behind him, and almost jumped out of his shoes when the ghost whistled in his ear.

"Some party today," he shouted over everyone.

"What? What was that?" Tamaki yelled back, bringing a hand to his ear.

"I said, SOME PARTY TODAY!" Hoki bellowed in his face.

"NO, WE'RE NOT HAVING A PARTY TODAY!" Tamaki roared. "WHATEVER GAVE YOU THAT IDEA?"

"YOU KNOW WHAT, FORGET IT!" Hoki answered.

"WHAT?"

"Both of you shut up!" Miyako screeched at them, glaring daggers.

"WHAT?" Tamaki and Hoki screamed together.

Miyako ran a hand through her hair, groaning low.

Tamaki looked around for a student-free spot where they could hopefully talk without developing severe laryngitis. He stood on the curb for a better viewing point. It was a good thing he was tall and most of the crowd was made up of female students. That in and of itself was a clue to what was happening here. Perhaps an idol was coming for a surprise concert and no one had told him. It would at least explain the crowd, but wouldn't his father, or even Kyoya know about that and tell him?

Speaking of which, Tamaki's scanning eyes picked up a lone figure far off to the side of the building, far away enough to be out of the mob, but close enough that Tamaki could make out the unmistakable shine of glasses and a black notebook at his chest.

"Come on," he said to his comrades, not wanting to wait another moment for this crowd to grow bigger and swallow them up.

"WHAT?" Everyone shouted at him, but he had already taken off running, leaving them to throw their hands up and follow him.

Tamaki hurled past screaming girl after screaming girl. They were, he realized, a lot like the fangirls the Host Club saw every day. It amazed him how bothersome they could become when screaming over someone else, whoever it may be. Near the tail end, the mish-mash of voices died down enough that he could actually make out what some of them were saying.

"…Great Seiya!"

"I love you, Seiya!"

"WHEN WILL SEIYA GET HERE!"

"SEIYAAAAAA!"

"Who the hell is Seiya?" Hoki screamed, voicing the thoughts of everyone as they honed in on the apathetically standing Kyoya.

"Hey!" Tamaki called out. "Kyoya!"

The Shadow King looked up from his notebook, where it appeared he'd been going over club spenditures for the last month. He cast a weary glance at the unruly crowd before Tamaki waved a hand in his face.

"Kyoya, what is going on?" Tamaki all but demanded. "Who is this Seiya person everyone's waiting for?"

Kyoya said nothing in response, and for a moment, Tamaki was afraid the crowd had mutated further and per his fears, and now nobody would ever hear him or anyone else speak again! Then Kyoya reached into his back and pulled out a magazine, which had been marked on a certain page Kyoya opened it to. Tamaki leaned in to get a better look, Miyako and the ghosts looking over his shoulder.

The advertisement featured a man, likely around 20, smiling at the camera, offering a peace sign. His shoulder length black hair was windswept, giving his admittedly handsome face more emphasis. The man wore an all black jump suit, with various phrases and symbols written on it in kanji. He stood atop a huge ramp, a motorcycle between his legs, like he was about to ride it into the air and fly across to the other side. Underneath it was writing in big, bright red letters.

**COME SEE THE GREAT SEIYA! EXTRAORDINARY DAREDEVIL! LIVE IN TOKYO!**

"He's an up and coming showman," Kyoya said. "A professional stunt man, if you will. Since his debut several months ago, The so-called Great Seiya had gained quite a following, particularly among young woman in our age bracket."

Tamaki looked again at the crowd, and spotted one girl standing on the fountain, who had forgone the usual uniform for a rather suspicious looking white dress. In her hands was an even more suspicious bouquet of flowers.

"I see," he muttered. "So what does that have to do with Ouran?"

"It seems that The Great Seiya never finished High School. That's what my sources say, anyway. He's decided that he'd like to go back and finish school, but rather than attend night courses or work towards a GED, he'll be attending a regular school for the next month or so."

"This one," Miyako supplied, earning a nod from Kyoya. She then exhaled deeply though her nose, looking more tired than ever all of a sudden. Tamaki discreetly stepped closer, just in case she fell over and needed to be caught or something.

"Well," Elissa spoke up. "I don't know much about this Daredevil nonsense, but I hope all this ruckus will end soon."

While everyone present was agreeing with her, a funny sound sailed through Tamaki's ears. Brow furrowing, he focused on the sound, hearing it grow louder and louder with each passing second. It was some sort of humming, almost like a… helicopter?

"HE'S HERE!" Someone shouted. "THE GREAT SEIYA IS HERE!"

The helicopter appeared behind the massive Ouran building. It's harsh sounds were almost non-existent amid the screaming that followed it's arrival. Tamaki groaned and shoved his hands into his ears. He wasn't the only one bothered by it either.

"It's too loud!" Naru whimpered, tugging on his pants leg. "Mr. Tamaki, make it stop."

"Thank God I'm dead," Hoki shouted. "Or else my ears would've exploded by now!"

The helicopter slowed and began to dip, several ropes shooting out which five burly man shimmied to the ground on. The second their feet were on land, the bodyguard types were all over the crowd, shouting at them and pushing them to the side, A hole was made in the center as the chopper flew even lower. Out from the open doors came a sixth figure, this one dressed not in black like the others, but the standard black pants and blue blazer. The crowd erupted a second time.

"HELLO, OURAN ACADEMY!" the young man said in a booming voice. "IT'S GREAT TO BE HERE. I, THE GREAT SEIYA, AM HONORED TO SHARE THESE HALLOWED HALLS WITH ALL MY ADORING FANS!"

The Great Seiya leapt out of the helicopter, a gloved hand grabbing hold of a forgotten rope and sliding all way down. Not once did he lose his composed air.

"Impressive," Miyako said flatly.

"Hm," Kyoya replied.

The crowd jumped and cheered as Seiya greeted them with blown kisses and smiles. People fainted and swooned and Seiya just stood there, basking in the undivided love and attention. From the very edge of the crowd, a pair of redheads forced their way though. They pulled a brunette out after them and a tall man with a small blonde on his shoulders brought up the rear.

"What the hell is going on today?" Hikaru cried as he and the others stopped in front of their club leaders.

"There's a celebrity at school today!" Hunny pointed at the still preening Seiya.

"He's rather ostentatious," Mori observed.

Hikaru and Kaoru snorted. "More like pretentious."

Haruhi was about to nod in agreement, when a blonde headed bullet shot at her, grabbing in it's clutches and squeezing hard enough that she missed a couple of breaths.

"Haruhi, thank goodness you're alright!" Tamaki said, enormous tears streaming down his face. "When I saw you come out of that awful mob, I was sure you'd been gravely injured in your struggle for freedom!"

"It wasn't that bad," Haruhi shrugged, moving her arms back and forth to slowly worm her way out of Tamaki's grip. "Listen, can we talk? It's kind of important."

"Of course," Tamaki cried, spinning her around twice before dropping her. "Anything for you, my lo-"

"_Senpai_," Haruhi said sharply, the smile on her face devoid of any joy and filled instead with annoyance. It took several tiny head gestures at the oblivious, yet close enough to hear his yelling, crowd, but Haruhi's message came across clearly and Tamaki went red at his near error.

"Uh- yes of course, Haruhi!" he said with false bravado. "Let us take a walk and discuss some club business."

He gently put an arm around her, a not so intimate act that could easily be mistaken for mere friendship while simultaneously allowing Tamaki the joy of holding his beloved, if only partially. Haruhi did nothing to stop him, but gave no positive reaction either.

"We'll be right back," she called over her shoulder.

"Have fun," the disinterested Kyoya answered.

Though he said nothing, Hikaru did give the couple a lasting look, one that didn't escape his brother's view and made him sigh under his breath.

"God, I'm tired," Miyako yawned, even less aware of her surroundings than anyone else present in the mob or out of it. This was saying a great deal.

Tamaki and Haruhi walked away from the chaos. Slowly and in time with each other, their footsteps slapped against the smooth white concrete. Once they were out of sight, Tamaki pulled Haruhi closer to him, and she responded by leaning a tiny bit against him.

"So, what's on your mind?" Tamaki asked, watching a bird land on the angel statue's head and curiously picked at the stream of water flowing from it, before flying away.

"Well, it's about tonight," Haruhi answered slowly.

Tamaki grinned at this, images of the wonderful date they had planned swimming through his mind's eye. He could just see her in a cute little dress (which she usually never wore), walking through the park with him under the moonlight and discussing a wide variety of topics. From historical debates to commoner culture to current events to-

"Is it okay if we postpone our date?"

Tamaki stopped walking, thinking and smiling. It was as if his entire world- no, universe- had frozen solid. He was literally like an alive block of ice, only able to move his eyes and look down at Haruhi's innocently sweet face staring back up at him.

"Why?" he said, somehow not of his own volition.

Haruhi shrugged, smiling apologetically. "I would rather not, but my English Professor sent out an email this morning that he was going to be giving us a surprise test tomorrow, and I really need to study for it. You understand, right?"

It was an achingly slow process, but Tamaki managed to relax his stiff muscles and slump over slight, a sad sight that he was lucky only Haruhi could see. She waited patiently, though clearly wanting an answer soon. Tamaki's eyes found her, the look she wore, if he didn't know any better, was almost pleading with him. Any objections he might have been able to muster died before even beginning to form. That face would always be Tamaki's greatest weakness.

"Of course it's alright," he said, standing up straighter and grinning widely. "I know how important your studies are. We can go out on any night, it doesn't matter when."

Her face broke out in a smile, one that light up her features the way he so dearly loved.

"Thanks, I'm glad you understand."

Tamaki nodded as Haruhi stood up on tip-toes and planted a chaste kiss on his lips just as the bell began to ring. She pulled away as the mish-mash of noise a distance away began to swell, signaling that the mob was on the move, as was their oddly beloved Great Seiya. Haruhi moved away from Tamaki, not wanting to risk being spotted in an, however small, romantic embrace.

"We'd better go," she said, walking back the way they came with the expectance that Tamaki would follow.

And though he did, his pace was noticeably slower than before.

* * *

><p>"Ms. Kita, are you sure you're feeling alright?"<p>

Miyako, up until now staring aimlessly at a window that looked in need of cleaning, glanced at Ootori, noting the Hitachiins standing behind him three steps down from the top of the stairs. Neither twin paid her any mind, as they were too busy watching The Great Seiya and his entourage approach, ready to enter the School building and likely cause even more of a ruckus.

"I'm fine," Miyako answered, rubbing her eyes for the umpteenth time. "I had a bad night's sleep, that's all."

She moved away from the banister that she'd been leaning on, her yellow dress puffing back out where it had been flattened. Miyako brushed Ootori's odd concern off and stepped back, still talking the whole way, though mostly to herself.

"I just need to get through the day and go home, but I hope we don't have any more surprise tests, I'm in no mood to deal with that. If only I could just lay down-"

Her verbal thoughts stopped there. They wouldn't have, were it not for an unfortunately placed hunk of rock, likely left behind by some careless students messing around at the Gardening club's place of rock. In slow motion, Miyako's foot landed in it's sharp edge. It rolled beneath her shoe, pitching her forward. Ootori said something, but Miyako was no longer paying attention to anything besides the line of concrete stairs coming closer and closer.

She didn't hear the crowd of girls gasp, nor the thumping of rubber soles against sidewalk as someone ran at light speed. She was unaware of all this, and only knew something had happened when she found herself not sprawled against the staircase, bloodied and bruised, but held in the air by a strong pair of arms. Her rescuer adjusted his hand on her back, his other one snaking around her cloth covered legs. Now held in bridal style, Miyako came back to her senses and looked up. She found a pair of hazel eyes staring back at her.

"You should be more careful," he said in a stereotypical 'hero' voice. "Those stairs can be dangerous, and it wouldn't do to mar your face with scars, my dear."

All around them, the fangirls between to squee and talk amongst themselves.

"Wow, I can't believe The Great Seiya saved that girl! Who is she anyway?"

"I think her name is Kita or something."

"She's so lucky. I was Seiya would hold _me_ like that."

"He's so cool and nice!"

"I know!"

"Is this really that big of a deal?" the Hitachiins muttered.

"Um, okay," Miyako said, unable to keep eye contact with the obnoxiously grinning Daredevil. "Thank you very much. Can you please put me down now?"

She tried to push away from him, back all it led to was Seiya pulling her closer to his chest and his fangirls either squeeing more or fuming in barely repressed jealously. Miyako looked to Ootori and the Hitachiin's for any sort of help, but found that they were also too busy paying attention to Seiya, though not quite as blindly love struck as the girls.

"The Great Seiya, was it?" Ootori addressed him while pushing his glasses further up his nose.

The 'Great' Seiya chuckled. "Please, call me Seiya. Around here, I'm not a wealthy TV personality and Tokyo's current most eligible bachelor. I'm just a regular High School student like the rest of you. I hope you'll all accept me as one of your own."

After a pause, Hikaru leaned in to Kaoru.

"You know, I'm not sure yet, but I think this guy might manage to out-Tamaki Tamaki."

Kaoru nodded in agreement.

"So," Seiya boomed, returning all attention to himself as he so clearly wanted it to. "Ms… Kita, was it? I hope you'll be more careful next time."

He then turned around, coming to the second to last step and, much to Miyako's immense relief, set her back down on her feet at the very top. She stepped back, but the implications of this didn't seem to reach Seiya, as he continued to grin at her.

"I'd hate to see a young lady get hurt," he went on. "Especially beautiful ones like you. By the way, would you so kind as to go on a date with me?"

All sounds ceased. In that instant, it was quiet enough to hear birds singing from a tree roughly ten miles away. Miyako stared at Seiya, while Seiya in turn stared at her. All his fangirls, as well as the three Hosts, stared at them both. Miyako's mouth fell open, her body numb with shock over what she had just heard.

She doubted anyone outside her family had ever called her beautiful. Even without her one or two pimples (she refused to believe more existed), she was really nothing special to look at. And then he had to go and ask her out. Where the hell did that come from? Even worse was how obviously sincere he was about it. She doubted he would just randomly decide to do this as a joke, not when over 200 perfectly willing and much prettier than her girls were right behind him, taking turns fainting and glaring at her.

It was absurd. It made no sense. It made Miyako want to get as far away from Seiya as humanly possible. Sure enough, he was oblivious to all this. He couldn't even interpret her stunned and maybe even horrified reaction properly.

"I said, would you please go on a date with mmmph!"

Miyako's hand shot out, shoving Seiya's face in and muffling his words. Breathing deeply, she slowly pushed him aside and headed into the building as fast as she possibly could without breaking into a run. Seiya, a light red palm mark on his nose and mouth, watched her go with a complete lack of surety.

"What did I say?" he asked Ootori and the Hitachiin.

But they had long since followed Miyako inside.

* * *

><p>Throughout the requisite two hours of hosting, Tamaki was off in his own world. A world that revolved solely around Haruhi and everything that had been said earlier that day. He could hardly focus on his guests, leaving them confused by his distant behavior and unsatisfied when they left. The girls weren't the only ones to notice either.<p>

"What is with him today?" Hikaru wondered aloud, crossing his arms and eyeballing Tamaki as he slouched in his seat.

"Maybe him and Haruhi had a fight or something," Kaoru suggested while stirring sugar into his tea.

"You think?" Hikaru asked, sitting up a little straighter.

"And why does that make you happy?" Kaoru muttered suspiciously.

He would never know if Hikaru heard him or what his answer would be, because at that moment, their next appointment arrived. Expecting one or two regulars, the twins were stunned when they realized a light clacking sound accompanied the approaching footsteps. She sat down on the couch, resting her cane beside her.

"Good afternoon, Hikaru and Kaoru," Li said, folding her hands over in her lap like a trained lady.

Both twins glanced at each other, unsure of what to do and thankful that she couldn't see the anxiety in their features.

"Hello, Li-san," Hikaru said shakily. "How are you today?"

"Just fine," she said cheerfully. "It's nice to hear your voice again, Hikaru-kun."

The elder Hitachiin twin cleared his throat, stretching his shoulders back as if that would relieve the growing tension. Kaoru had gotten over his momentary shock already, offering Li a cup of coffee with ridiculous ease. Hikaru glared at him, knowing he would get no response, yet not caring. He had no idea how his brother could be smiling right now as Li politely refused the drink.

"So, I hear your mother is a fashion designer," Li said. "That must be so fun."

"It can be," Kaoru answered, visibly relaxing even more. "Unless you're dealing with no it all design students and idiotic models. Right Hikaru?"

But Hikaru was in no condition to answer beyond an emotionless, "Yeah."

Kaoru frowned and elbowed his brother gently, yet firmly in the rib. Li was oblivious to all this, settling back into the couch and folding her hands over her lap like a perfectly trained lady.

Hikaru eyed her, then his brother. He then spent the rest of their time together staring at the far wall over Li's head and wondering why her presence bothered him so much. And more importantly, just how long before her appointment was over already?

* * *

><p>Unbeknownst to Hikaru, he wasn't the only host off in his own confused world at the moment.<p>

Tamaki ran his fingers around the ring of his coffee cup, watching the steam as it lifted from the hot, brown liquid. A red line was indented in the pad of his finger, but he hardly noticed or cared. He couldn't get Haruhi's face out of his mind, nor their conversation. He remembered every little bit of it with perfect clarity.

_'Is it okay if we postpone our date?'_

He drew a deep, ragged breath and fell back against his chair. He was lucky not to have another client for at least five more minutes, giving him ample time to think things over.

"This isn't a big deal," he said to himself. "It's not! Haruhi's never broken a date before now, but it's not like she doesn't have a good reason. Her studies are very important to her, and I want her to succeed in her dreams. I'd do anything to make that a reality because I know it's what she wants and after all, she'd be an amazing lawyer!"

He slowly placed the cup back on it's coaster.

"Besides, it's not like she's breaking up with me. Why would she? I've been a perfect boyfriend, haven't I?"

A cold chill went down his spine as this line of thought brought out a plethora of new fears.

"Oh no! What if I did something wrong and this is only the beginning? Sure, she has homework now, but what about next time, and the time after that, and the time after that! Oh, what could I have done to upset so?"

"Mr. Tamaki?"

Tamaki stopped right in the middle of another answerless question. He realized now that he'd gotten up somewhere in the middle of it and began pacing, drawing several odd looks from nearby guests. Naru-chan was in her usual spot next to him, watching with an equal amount of question in her wide, unblinking eyes. Tamaki's shoulder slumped as he quickly took his seat again before anyone (namely Haruhi or Kyoya) saw him making a fool of himself. His head fell miserably, and he caught sight of a tiny hand hovering over his leg.

"Are you okay, Mr. Tamaki?" Naru asked.

Tamaki forced his neck up and smiled as wide as he could without looking too fake. The last thing he wanted was to scare the poor little ghost or give her more cause to believe there was a problem.

"It's fine, Naru-chan," he said. "I just have some things on my mind right now. Grown-up things. Nothing for you to worry about."

Naru tilted her head to one side, examining him in a way someone her age probably shouldn't be able to. Adding to the oddness of this behavior was Naru's next question.

"Is it about Ms. Haruhi?"

The balloon in Tamaki's stomach swelled uncomfortably. His phony cheer vanished immediately, but Naru was unaware as ever of how her words had achieved this affect. As taken aback as he was, Tamaki still found it in him to answer, and answer fast.

"Well- well yes. Haruhi and I had an important discussion earlier and I was just thinking it over. That's all."

To his immense relief, Naru seemed satisfied with this. In fact, she gave a happy laugh and clapped her hands together, as if she'd just made an amazing discovery and couldn't be more proud of herself for it.

"I really like Ms. Haruhi," she said, kicking her legs out into the air and letting them phase through the cushion every return trip. "She's nice and pretty! And I like you a lot, Mr. Tamaki, but I know you and Ms. Haruhi like each other a lot too, so it's okay."

Tamaki could only chuckle in response. The implications of Naru's statement were not lost on him, but he had other things to worry about that were more important. Unfortunately for him, his next appointment, a bubbly and sometime over excited young lady who came to him every other day, arrived right then. As she sat down and issued a love struck greeting to her favorite host, Tamaki was forced to slide back into the role of 'Host Club Prince,' something that was easier said than done.

This went on all throughout the rest of the day, until club hours came to a merciful end and Tamaki was able to see his last customer of the day off. Once cleaning up duties were complete, Hikaru and Kaoru were the first to head home. For whatever reason, they both looked rather stressed. Hikaru more so.

Tamaki gathered his things together, arranging them neatly in his bag and trying hard not to glance up at the corner by the double doors, where Haruhi was quietly talking to her father on the phone. He couldn't hear what she was saying, mainly because Hoki and Elissa were loudly bickering about something the former had said that the latter, correctly or not, interpreted as an insult directed at her singing ability. It was a common occurrence that Tamaki had mostly gotten used to by now, but now was so far beyond not the time that it was almost laughable.

Haruhi clicked the phone off and grabbed her bag, stopping in the middle of pulling the door open to turn around and bid Tamaki a silent goodbye. He nodded and tried to look cheerful, but he had no idea if she bought it. Regardless, Haruhi was gone a second later, and Tamaki was left more alone than ever with a pair of arguing spirits, another spirit who was too young to understand, and Kyoya.

Speaking of whom-

"Something is troubling you, am I right?"

Tamaki sucked in a breath. Just how long had Kyoya been standing there? How did he miss that obvious scritch- scratching of a pen against notebook paper. Slowly, Tamaki spun around on a heel and looked his best friend in the eye, trying to maintain the mask of contentment that had been slowly failing him for hours now.

"It's nothing," he said in a wavering voice. The look Kyoya gave him was all the answer necessary, and let Tamaki know more than anything else that there was no way around this. "Haruhi has extra studying to do tonight, so she postponed our date and… and well, what if I did something wrong and she going to do this again because she's angry with me? Or what if she just breaks up with me all together, I couldn't bear that! What if-"

"What if you stopped and listened to yourself for once," Kyoya interrupted calmly without raising his voice a fraction. "You said it yourself, Haruhi needs to study. If you know and understand that, then all of this is just your over active imagination talking. Haruhi loves you and accepts you for the dumbass you are, so there is no reason for her to leave you."

"Y-you think so?" Tamaki sniffed.

Kyoya rolled his eyes. "Of course, and you know it too. If you'd just listen to your common sense a little more, you wouldn't have these problems."

Before Tamaki could answer, a low and sinister laugh pierced the atmosphere and made the hairs on his neck stand on end. Tamaki shivered involuntarily as the laughter grew, and a horrible aura began to slither about.

"Why yes, Suoh, that's quite true," a voice said.

Tamaki gasped and jumped back as a black cloaked figure slid into view, seemingly from nowhere. Their face was covered from the mouth up, but it was enough for him to know that a horribly scary look was currently pointed in his direction, courtesy of his upperclassman. As usual, Kyoya was completely unaffected and unafraid, barely glancing up from his writing to acknowledge the new arrival.

"Good afternoon, Nekozawa-senpai," he greeted. "We haven't seen you around recently."

"I've been busy," the Black Magic club said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "But I've paid close attention to your misadventures regardless. I see Suoh and Fujioka are having relationship problems, what a shame. You two make quite the couple."

"Wha-WAH!" Tamaki shrieked, sailing into the air as if on a rocket and dropping back down without the slightest reaction from anyone present. "How do you know about that?"

"Oh, I know everything you seven do," Nekozawa answered with a degree of mirth, likely some sort of sick pleasure he took from Tamaki's pain. "We are practically neighbors after all, and my specialty is the occult after all. Speaking of which, how have your spiritual encounters been going? Where it not for your dedication to the Host Club, I would invite you to join the Black Magic club. We've never had someone with a connection to the land of the dead before."

"Huh- bu- wha-" Tamaki couldn't find a single way to get his tangled voice box working again, and so he turned to Kyoya, silently begging for help or an explanation. Just from the smile his friend now wore, Tamaki knew he was only too happy to give it.

"It's fine," Kyoya said. "I've already sworn him to secrecy."

"Yes," Nekozawa agreed, sounding less happy all of a sudden. "Such a shame…"

Tamaki's head whipped between the two over and over again, fast enough to give him a massive neck ache. He want all at once to yell and Kyoya, scream and run, and grab a bible with which to banish Nekozawa back to whatever underworld he'd come from. When none of those came to be, he merely sighing and nodded his head.

"Alright," he muttered under his breath. "Okay if- if you're sure, Kyoya," He cleared his throat. "What can we do for you, Senpai?"

"I think the appropriate question is, 'What and I do for you?'"

Tamaki took another step back as that fear from before came back with a vengeance. He didn't like that tone. That was not a pleasant tone. That was the kind of voice a person used when they were about to do something that would scar you for life. Tamaki wrapped his arm around his torso, a purely defensive act. Over Nekozawa's shoulder, Hoki and Elissa had finally silenced and were now staring at the back of his cloak with a bewildered awe.

"I- Excuse me?"

Nekozawa inched closer. "It's not hard to understand. You are worried that you're losing Fujioka's affections, yes? I know that would devastate you, so how about I show you a little, shall we say, experiment I've been working on?"

Tamaki gulped.

"It's very simple," Nekozawa went on, still moving forward at an agonizingly slow rate. "Just a potion for the heartbroken lover. One drink and Fujioka will be all yours forever, and you'll never have to worry about losing her or broken dates again. What do you say?"

By now, Tamaki's mouth was hanging so far down, he was sure it had completely dislocated. Nekozawa had lifted his head a tiny bit, his wig covered eyes now barely visible. Tamaki staring into the void, unable to string even two words together.

"I- I-"

Perhaps it was the way Nekozawa's shallow breathing kept him on edge, waiting for a strike. Perhaps it was Hoki's much to loud whispering in Elissa's ear ("I wonder if we pulled that hood down, there'd be a skull head underneath"). Or perhaps it was Kyoya's incessant indifference to it all.

"I- I- I-"

Whatever it was, Tamaki's flustered mind was coming close to an implosion.

"I- I… NO!"

Nekozawa frowned.

"Are you insane? I'd never do that to Haruhi!" he shouted, all fear vanishing in an instant as if it had never been there in the first place. "Now, if you'll excuse me!"

Tamaki took off at a quickening pace, Kyoya stepping out of his way as he passed and not reacting when the door opened and slammed shut behind him. He only glanced at Nekozawa, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Thank you, Nekozawa-senpai," he said. "Hopefully that idiot's learned something."

"Anytime!" was the answer.

* * *

><p>Tamaki ran down the hall with no idea where he was going. He was alone, the vast majority of his peers having gone home ages ago, but still caught sight of a few stragglers here and there. Paying them no heed, he kept moving. The air whipping around, creating a dull roar in his ears that steadily rose in volume. That was good, he needed something to drown out the sound of Nekozawa's creepy voice in his head.<p>

He skidded to a halt upon entering one particular hallway. A head of brown hair that bobbed as it's owner walked had his full attention. Tamaki was directly behind her, his hands grasping her shoulders and spinning her around before he even knew he had moved.

"What?" Haruhi cried out.

"Haruhi, I'm sorry!" Tamaki said, tears welling up fast. "I've been acting so selfish. It's not right for me to impede on your studies, there're far too important for you!"

"Huh?" Haruhi was completely at a loss for her boyfriend's strange behavior. "Tamaki, you're not-"

"You and I can go on a date whenever, and I mean it this time! I promise you I will never burden you with anything, and if you ever feel I am, or if I do anything you don't like at all, you can tell me, okay?"

"Uh…" Haruhi glanced around a few times. "Alright, that sounds great. Are you okay, Tamaki?"

He answered with a smile and a deep, relieved exhale. Tamaki then pulled her into a hug, holding on tight and lightly resting his chin on her shoulder.

"I'm fine," he answered. "I feel great."

Though still clearly confused, Haruhi figuratively threw her hands up and returned the hug, silently enjoying the feel of being in Tamaki's arms. When he suddenly pulled away, Haruhi furrowed her brow. Looking up, she saw Tamaki glancing around in all different directions, as if dedicatedly searching for something.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Just making sure we're really alone," he replied airily.

_'Maybe you should have thought of that before you hugged me,'_ she thought. Of course, she should have known better than to let him in that case. Granted, a hug could be seen as purely a gesture of friendship, but with the giggly, gossiping nature of quite a few of the school's students, there was always a chance even that could be seen as something not quite friendly. All these thoughts and any further ones vanished from Haruhi's mind the instant Tamaki answered her unposed question of why he was doing this.

His lips pressed firmly against hers, showing no sign of removing themselves anytime soon. A tiny sound erupted from Haruhi's throat, but neither she nor Tamaki paid it any heed as she closed her eyes and returned the kiss. It was true they couldn't spend the day together, but Haruhi supposed her homework could wait a couple of minutes.

Despite Tamaki's assertion that no one could see them, there were in fact three witnesses to the impromptu meeting. Hoki, Elissa and Naru watched from their spots at the end of the hallway. Elissa was needlessly dabbing her eyes and murmuring about 'such beautiful young love' and whatnot, while Naru was visibly cringing.

"So _that's_ what people who like each other do?"

Hoki grinned cheekily. "It takes a special kind of 'liking' for this sort of thing. For example, I would _never_ do that with Big Mouth over here, and I… okay, bad example."

"Silence, Cretin."

"Grown-ups are really weird," Naru observed as yet another fight broke out and Tamaki and Haruhi remained in an oblivious embrace.

* * *

><p>Miyako ignored several students whispering as she walked by. The usual nonsense about 'he saved her and she's so ungrateful' and 'doesn't she know how lucky she is how could she throw it away like that?' They weren't the first and they certainly wouldn't be the last, not after this morning.<p>

She hadn't seen Seiya for the entire rest of the day. It turned out he'd been enrolled in the third year class, which meant she only had to deal with his rapidly growing fan girl base and not his ridiculous preening all day. As far as Miyako was concerned, it was the lesser of two evils.

_'I guess I could have been a little less harsh,'_ she admitted to herself._ 'I mean, he caught me by surprise, but maybe if I'd just said no instead of walking away?'_

_'And almost smashing his face in,'_ the annoying voice of her reason said.

Miyako's lips tightened into a line and she breathed hard through her nostrils. Her practical shoes slapped harder against the floors as she quickened her pace unconsciously.

"It's not like he was serious anyway," she reasoned out loud, then groaning even louder as another thought hit her. "I hope Kenji and Rika don't find out about this, they'd never let me live it down."

"Whose Kenji and Rika?"

Miyako's head whipped around so hard it made her neck hurt. While she was rubbing it, she glared hard at the cause as he moved as if on air to walk beside her. She wondered how long it would be before the squee brigade appeared, if they weren't already lying in wait behind the curtains or in the row of lockers.

"Are they friends of yours?" Seiya went on, either unaware of Miyako's pointedly ignoring him or just not caring. "Are they your siblings? Cousins maybe? Do they work for you?"

"I'm sorry," Miyako said, easily drowning him out. "Really, I mean it. It wasn't my intention to offend you before, but if you'd just-"

"Woah, wait a second," By now, Seiya had stopped, and he placed himself in front of Miyako, forcing her to do the same. "You think I'm… oh no, you've got it all wrong. If anything, I should be apologizing to you, Kita-san."

Slowly, her eyebrow went up. Miyako had no idea how to approach this, nor what to make of the grin on Seiya's face that, in spite of her desire to see some fakery or showmanship behind it, looked very genuine.

"Seriously," he went on when she didn't answer. "It was wrong of me to put you on the spot like that, especially after that near miss of yours. Speaking of which, I meant what I said about you being more coordinated, that I'm not taking back."

Miyako's cheek twitched, and if she didn't know any better, she'd think she was about to smile. She even felt an odd stirring in her stomach that could have been misconstrued as a laugh. It was all very strange.

"Okay," she said finally. "Thank you for apologizing."

He grinned wider. "Does that means you accept? Awesome! So _now _will you go out with me?"

Any potential desire to laugh or smile disappeared, and what replaced it was undeniable and not open for debate.

"Excuse me?"

Seiya shrugged. "It wasn't fair to ask you in front of all those people. Things like this should be done in private, especially since it would be our first date and the last thing I want is to appear inconsiderate. That wouldn't be a good first impression at all. So, what do you say?"

The pause that followed was long, awkward, and made all the worse by Seiya's massive and painful ignorance to Miyako's disbelief. She almost hoped that his fan girls where around, as their mass screaming and fainting would provide an apt distraction for her to make a clean getaway. Not that their lack of appearance was going to stop her.

"No."

It was a quick, clean answer that she didn't bother to let sink in before swerving around Seiya and getting as much space between them as humanly possible without outright running.

"So… should I take that as a maybe?" he called after her.

"You take it as a no."

As she turned a corner and vanished from sight, Seiya sighed and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Next time, I'll have to try a different tactic," he muttered to himself. "Maybe if I complimented her hair or some… thing…"

His wandering eyes had found the window, and the person who stood unabashedly on the other side of it. She stared right back at him, emotionless as ever. Her black hair was in ringlets today, flowing down to her lower back. Pale skin stretched over a thin, yet beautiful face that could entrance any man, just as it had once for Seiya. She was frowning, but that wasn't new. In all the time Seiya had known her, she never once cracked an honestly happy smile. It was a shame; he imagined she'd look even more beautiful if she did, but that was neither here nor there.

Seiya pursed his lips. "Found me already? Damn, I thought I stumped you this time."

She gave him a look, the meaning behind it clear as if she'd actually spoken.

"Don't even try," Seiya said, shaking his head slowly. "Not now. These kids have nothing to do with you and me. Leave them out of it."

Hands pressed on the glass. Her almost white skin that clashed with the scenery and made his eyes hurt. Seiya left, knowing that if he stayed any longer, she might finally catch him, and he simply couldn't have that.

Cold blue eyes followed him, the only part of her that moved an inch even as the sun died away and left her in growing darkness. She picked out the sound of a car engine, and it distinguished itself from all the others she had heard, because it was his car. It was his car driving past and it was him in the back seat staring out the opposite window. She watched the reflection in the glass, then turned around to face the night.

"Don't be foolish, darling," she said softly. "I'm only here for you. And no matter where you go or how fast you run, one day very soon, I will have you."

She was gone before another car could pass.


	11. Total Eclipse of Miyako!

_mata ashita! hohoenda kimi ni  
><em>_aeru you nisumi kitta aozora ukabu kumo no you ni  
>mune ippai hi no hikari abite aruki dasou<br>boku to_

The song winded down as the final notes were sang. Tamaki's nimble fingers sailed across the keyboard, playing the notes he'd spent days memorizing with flawless accuracy. He received a round of applause before his own part was finished, and stood from his seat to face the small crowd of his peers who had paused their diligent work to listen to him practice.

"Bravo," Renge called out, her voice clear over the clapping. "Bravo! Excellent work, Tamaki-senpai, that was wonderful. We are definitely going to win this year with you on our team."

Several other girls shouted similar compliments, and Tamaki took them all with the grace and poise necessary of Princely type. He bowed low, in one direction and then another.

"Thank you, thank you all so much," he said. "But I can't take all the credit, this show would be nothing without all your hard work and dedication to our school."

The girl's swooned and sighed, while in the corner by the sweating stagehands, Hikaru and Kaoru rolled their eyes.

"Do they really need to stuff his ego anymore than it already is?" they said flatly.

"Kyoya," Tamaki shouted loud so his voice would carry to the tech booth where his best friend was sitting and examining the freshly printed playbill. He lazily looked up at the sound of his name being called.

"Everything's fine up here," he answered. "Try not to knock into the microphone too many times."

"I only did that once!" Tamaki whined, reaching for his head to rub at a long extinguished pain.

"Come on, no fighting!" Hunny-senpai shouted, running center stage with Mori-senpai on his tail. "If we're going to have a great performance, we all have to work together!"

"Yeah."

Tamaki nodded. "Of course you're right, Hunny-senpai. Alright everyone, let's get back to rehearsing!"

The double doors slammed opened, sunlight from the outdoors streaming in a blinding several people whose eyes had become accustomed to the dimmer stage lighting. Renge raised her megaphone, likely to shout something at whoever was causing the disturbance, but the new arrival was faster. She ran across, soon close enough that Tamaki could identify her as Fujiwara, Renge's assistant Stage Manager and a regular of his since the Host Club's early days.

"Riiko-chan, where have you been?" Renge's question boomed through the megaphone she was still holding to her mouth. "Did you bring Mio? Tamaki-senpai already has his part down, he's been far more diligent than your so-called Professional grade singer. And you know, she's not even that good a singer for all the work we put into sounding great. I feel like I should just replace her, for all the good she's done around here."

Renge paced around Fujiwara, like a tiger on the prowl, seeking out it's dinner. For her part, Fujiwara wasn't looking all that scared of Renge's fuming.

"To be honest, that's kind of a relief," she said. "I just got off the phone with Mio-chan. She's been rushed to the hospital for an emergency tonsillectomy and won't be able to do the show now."

Renge stopped. Her grip on the megaphone fell limp, allowing it to fall on the ground and emit loud, unpleasant feedback. Everyone in the surrounding area winced, everyone not to busy watching Renge's face go deathly pale that is.

"She… can't… do it?" every word was low and dangerous, the levels increasing with every word.

Riiko wrung her hands together, backing up a step as if sensing an oncoming danger.

"Um… well yes. She sends her apologies of course, and-"

"OH MY GOD!"

Renge shot through the air like a rocket, running around the stage and screaming frantically.

"BUT WE'VE DONE SO MUCH WORK AND PRACTICED SO HARD!"

She finally stopped in front of Tamaki, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking furiously while his own cries of protest reverberated through the air.

"WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?"

"Excuse me, Renge."

This time, everyone tensed up from the sound. One might not think that someone speaking as calmly as Kyoya could be louder than the harrowed and shrieking Renge, but that's the beauty of microphone technology and the benefit of having a task that puts you in front of it. Like the voice of God had spoken, all eyes were now firmly placed on Kyoya, waiting patiently for whatever dry, yet encouraging words he had for them.

"This is a setback, I know," he said. "But it can be easily rectified. Tamaki, are you aware of any other student vocalist who will be free this Saturday?"

"There aren't any, I already checked!" Renge answer for Tamaki, who shrunk back in deflated sadness, knowing that his club's manger was right. "Don't you see? There's no time to change the act. We're going to have to pull out."

"Hang on, aren't you going a little too far?" a girl in the orchestra section spoke up.

"There has to be something else we can do!" another said.

"Does anyone has some ideas?" Tamaki stepped forward, taking on his 'forceful leader' tone and posture despite not actually being in charge of this event. "Anything at all?"

A hand shot up, and, now more encourage, Tamaki pointed with great flourish.

"Yes, Hunny-senpai, what's your idea?"

Everything looked expectantly to the small third year. Hunny blinked a few times, then blushed and shied away with embarrassment.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I don't actually have an idea," he softly admitted. "I just wanted to ask for a bathroom break."

While his resolve fell flat again, Tamaki gave a half-hearted wave at the door, silently giving his okay. A few of Hunny's fangirls had already taken care of the 'forgiving him for getting their hopes up' part, complete with tearful hugs and kisses on the cheek. He ran out a second later, Mori-senpai nodding to the rest before following. The rest of the performing students were left at their fork in the road without a clue how to proceed.

"Come on, everyone," Tamaki said. He was in no way ready to give up yet, cripplingly woeful feelings of inadequacy and uselessness be damned. "There has to be something, we just need to think and we'll get it!"

Unfortunately, no one else shared his enthusiasm. Already, music and drama students alike were whispering amongst themselves about weeks of hard work going to waste. Some where even packing up their instruments. As for Renge, she had all but abandoned her role of Stage Manager and, by default, leader who should be doing what Tamaki was doing, in favor of rocking back and forth next to the drawn in curtains.

"It's hopeless," she droned. "It's hopeless, utterly hopeless."

**SLAM**

"EVERYONE, COME QUICK!"

Tamaki's head whipped around to the double doors, where had just reentered with a literal bang. He was out of breath, but determined as he ran straight to Tamaki and grabbed his arm, pulling with great strength disproportionate to his small stature.

"Hunny-senpai, what is this?" he demanded.

"No time to talk," Hunny-senpai answered. "We have to hurry before she leaves. You have to hear this!"

"Hear what?"

But Tamaki wouldn't be getting an answer out of his Senpai. Hunny dragged him to the doors where Mori-senpai held one open for him. Out his peripheral vision, Tamaki could see a pair of redhead on their tail, as well as someone running to the stage up from the control room.

Kyoya, being the last one out, quickly called for everyone to stay put and wait for their return. He then quickly caught up with the others keeping a quick enough pace so as to walk at the front of the pack beside Hunny and Tamaki.

"Hunny-senpai, will you be explaining what we're doing any time soon?" he asked.

"Just wait," Hunny insisted, shaking his head. "We heard her on the way to the bathroom. She was in the girl's room, but I don't think she left yet… THERE IT IS!"

He broke into a run, forgetting his iron grip on Tamaki's arm and sending him flying through the air as result. Fearful screams ripped out of the unfortunate Host Club King's mouth. Hunny turned to scowl at him.

"Keep quiet, Tama-chan! She might hear you."

"Who might?" the exasperated Hikaru and Kaoru said.

In place of replying, their Senpai skidded to a halt in front of a door plainly marked 'LADIES.' The friction left Tamaki falling flat on his face with a hard thud. His pained moans went unheeded as everyone focused on Hunny-senpai. He tilted his head in the door's direction, bringing a finger to his lips and wordlessly shushing them.

"Listen…"

The unaware and uninjured club members were at first unsure what they were supposed to be hearing. So far, there was nothing aside from fellow students chatting in the distance and a few doors opening and closing. It took a few more seconds of this, and Hikaru and Kaoru nearly threw up their hands and tried again to get an answer out of Hunny-senpai.

And then they heard it. It was low and partially covered by water streaming from a faucet, but nonetheless, their ears had now adjusted and were honing in on the soft singing the came from beyond the door.

"_Every now and then I get a little bit restless_

_And I dream of something wild._

_Every now and then I get a little bit helpless_

_And I'm laying like a child in your arms."_

The six of them listened intently. Even Tamaki managed to let go of his pouting in favor of hearing the song. Because, quite frankly, whoever this was had an incredible voice. Were it not for the lack of music, Tamaki would be certain this was just someone sneaking a radio or an ipod onto school grounds.

"Who is that?" Hikaru whispered.

Still entranced, Tamaki slowly shook his head. "I don't know… but she's exactly what we're looking for."

"_And I need you now tonight._

_And I you more than ever._

_And if you only hold me tight,_

_We'll be holding on forever."_

The mystery singer went on, all throughout washing and drying her hands. School issue shoes clacking against hard glass tiles, growing louder with each step and signaling that the girl was about to unwittingly reveal herself to the host club. All six of them backed up, waiting with baited breath as her voice faded away and the door opened from the inside.

Out she stepped into the hall, and down went four jaws. Tamaki was the most stunned by the singer's true identity, and judging by her eyes bugging out and her startled gasp, she was dealing with something similar as she stared back into his eyes.

"Miyako…" he breathed. "Miyako?"

She blinked once, twice, her lips slightly parted to complete her dumbstruck look.

"You uh…" she glanced awkwardly to the side. "What are you all doing here?"

A beat. And then…

"MIYA-CHAN!" Hunny-senpai launched himself at her, spinning her around with him while she tried and failed to get away. "You never told us you could sing like that!"

"You're very good," Mori added in.

"Huh?" Miyako said. "Wait, what makes you think I was singing?"

"We heard you," Kaoru answered, as he and Hikaru stuck their heads out from the ladies' room door. "And we just got done checking, there is no one else in hear, just as we suspected."

"Wha- WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN THE LADIES ROOM, YOU PERVERTS!" the now outraged Miyako shouted.

"That is currently irreverent," Kyoya said, stepping forward. Though his purpose was to speak with her, he did throw in a small glare at the twins. "Though I recommend they don't do that ever again… regardless, we're in something of a bind and could use your help, Ms. Kita."

For a split second, Miyako was leaning in, intrigued by the idea that they needed her. Then her face set in a frown, and studied her classmate's face suspiciously.

"What kind of help?"

Kyoya smirked, reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out a folded piece of piece which he then handed to her.

"I'm sure you're aware of the inter-school talent competition being held here this weekend," he said as her eyes scanned the flier. "Three schools have been chosen to compete, Ouran Academy included. The other two are Kataki Private, a relatively new district looking to broaden it's horizons and gain exposure, and of course, St. Lobelia Girl's Academy."

At this, the Hitachiin twins could be heard hissing, like even thinking about the Zuka Club made their blood boil.

"St. Lobelia has a good track record for winning these sort of contests, thanks in no small part to the Zuka Club. We were hoping to present them with more of a challenge this year, but unfortunately, our singer has fallen ill and can no longer participate."

Miyako's frown deepened. She appeared to know exactly where this was going, and the way her feet inched away from Kyoya little by little was a good indicator of her desire to help, or lack thereof.

"It is imperative, then, that we find a replacement as soon as possible," Kyoya finished, taking the flier back from a silent Miyako. "I'm sure you've realized by now where we're going with this."

Pursing her lips, she nodded and moved to the side like she was about to walk away or run if necessary.

"I do, and thank you for considering me," she said, not sounding in any way thankful. "But I think you guys have made a mistake, I don't sing."

With her words as the trigger, alarms went off in Tamaki's head. He closed in on Miyako from behind, eyes shining and full of unstoppable determination as he spun her around by the shoulders.

"What are you talking about?" he shouted in her face. "Miyako, you have a great talent! How could you sell yourself so short?"

"Suoh, get away from me," she loudly protested his forcefulness. "I already told you-"

"And why didn't you tell us about this before?"

"Suoh, I'm not-"

"Well, I'm not going to stand for this," Tamaki declared, pulled Miyako into a one-armed hug that she couldn't free herself from no matter how much she struggled. "As your loving older brother, I swear that I will free you from such self-consciousness, Miyako. On Saturday night, you'll perform for an audiences of hundreds."

"Hundreds?"

"Maybe even thousands! With a voice like yours, there won't be a single person who doesn't leave that show moved beyond words. You'll be a star, and then you'll see how truly beautiful you are!"

"Suoh, I do not sing," Miyako said through grit teeth while she continued to fail at pulling her head out from under his arm. "That song is just something Kenji plays on the radio sometimes. I don't even like it, but it gets in my head, and it doesn't mean anything that I can sing it, okay? It really doesn't."

Her cries went in one ear and out the other. Tamaki was dead set on his goal and nothing was going to stand in his way, not even the person he was supposedly trying to help. With his free hand, Tamaki snapped his fingers, bringing everyone to attention.

"Alright, gentlemen," said the strong and powerful leader of the Host Club. "Let's get to work. Kyoya, let Renge know that the show will go on as planned. Hunny-senpai and Mori-senpai, get back to work finishing up the set. Hikaru and Kaoru, bring Miyako to the stage and see to it that she is taught the song."

"What are you going to do?" Kyoya asked.

Tamaki smirked. "Isn't is obvious… I'm going to call Haruhi and tell her the wonderful news. SHE'S GOING TO BE SO EXCITED! I just wish she didn't have so much work to do and could come and see the show. I miss her so much it almost hurts."

"You saw her this morning, you big baby," the twins said before shrugging and doing as they'd been told.

Coming up on either side of the now free and ready to run Miyako, they interlocked both hands each one of hers, pulling her tight into their death trap and sporting evil grins.

"Let's hop to it!" Hikaru said.

He and Kaoru then dragged the screaming Miyako away at lightning speed, leaving nothing behind but a trail of dust and one very exuberant and sparkly eyed Host Club King.

"This is going be perfect," he said, the true extent of his joy barely contained. "I just know it will!"

* * *

><p>"I just know this is going to go perfectly."<p>

That was all Amakusa Benio could say as she watched her girls perform the dance steps in complete synchronization. Their prerecorded music played softly in the background, to be replaced with a full orchestra that had also been practicing diligently until they could put the professionals to shame. The costumes were almost finished, and featured a glorious array of colors and designs from all different cultures. There was nothing that needed to be changed, no improvement necessary. As far as Benio was concerned, this was perfection.

"I don't think there's a single thing those poor other schools can do to beat us," Chizuru said, coming up behind the taller women like she was floating on a cloud and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I almost pity them," Benio answered, patting the top of Chizuru's hand in a loving manner.

She gave a soft sigh, her eyes straying to the window and the bright, beautiful sun in the sky. She smiled sadly.

'_I hope you're watching, Grandmother. I hope you're proud of me.'_

* * *

><p>A cluster of three box shaped buildings made up Kataki Private. Erected only three years previous, it wasn't yet considered more than a glorified private school. Though it was boasted a five star chef in the cafeteria and chandeliers made with authentic diamonds, most of the student body was made of up Upper-Middle Class, rather than Outright rich. The few wealthy students could always be found grouped together, but when you're on the Student Council, that's a given.<p>

Like a hierarchy at work, the president was the richest of them all, a tall, fairly handsome young man by the name of Kigurou Fushou. His family's fortune put the rest to shame, all thanks to his father, a prominent and ruthless owner of a chain of department stores. One would only have to sit in on a Council meeting to see that the apple doesn't fall far from the proverbial tree.

One this day, he was seated behind his desk (made from wood imported straight from the rainforests!) waiting for the visitor who stood before him to finish deliberating his proposal. Though on the outside, Kigurou was calm and collected, he would be biting his nails and sweating buckets were he all alone. Though his plan could probably go forward with her, having someone to guard him would be most useful should things turn sour. He didn't know much about the Martial Arts students at Ouran or Lobelia, but Kataki's very own Yoshino Takako had won every major competition for the last three years. Kigurou had watched her bouts on TV, and he'd seen her throw man three times her size out of the ring.

With her on his side, he would be unstoppable. If she could just believe him.

"So you say that these Ouran and Lobelia schools wish to sabotage us?"

Her voice made Kigurou jump from his thoughts. He coughed twice, hoping she hadn't seen that. Tranquility was important when making his case, especially when telling a big fat lie.

"Our sources indicate that this is so," he answered, shaking his head sadly. "I don't know what would drive such prominent and well-bred establishments to cheating, but we have well-documented evidence that they wish to ruin our performance."

Takako pursed her lips, nodding slowly.

"I see," she said. "They wish to sully the name of our school… can anything be done to stop them?"

Kigurou nodded, a bit too enthusiastically.

"We have a plan to expose their treachery, but I'm afraid we may find ourselves dealing with their Martial Arts students. You know how these tight-knit schools protect their own. That's why I was hoping you could lend us your skills, protect us from their wrath."

For a moment, Takako looked away, her bob haircut covering her face from view and leaving Kigurou with anxiety fueled doubts that she would say yes. But all that was laid to rest when their met again, and he saw something burning in them. Something he'd seen in every one of her fights.

"We must not let them get away with such underhanded tactics. President Kigurou, I swear that I will assist you in exposing their treachery however I can."

She bowed low, completely missing Kigurou gleeful smile.

'_Yes, this is perfect,' _his elated mind cheered. _'Now nothing can stop us! You're going down, Ouran and Lobelia. We're done being in your shadow. The people will acknowledge Kataki Private, and you'll both fall into disgrace, forgotten and alone like we once were! MUHUHAHAHAHAHAHA.'_

* * *

><p>"Alright everyone!" Renge clapped her hand, bringing everyone to attention. "Let's get set up. We've got our work cut out for us if we're going to have this show on the road by Saturday."<p>

She turned her head, aiming dangerously flashing eyes at Tamaki over by his piano.

"_And you'd better not make me regret going along with this, Suoh,_" she whispered harshly.

Tamaki masked his fear with a chuckled, then looked down at the sheet music he'd long since memorized. Everyone else was either setting up for their own parts or standing awkwardly, waiting for something to happen. In Miyako's case, it was both.

After Renge directed her to stand center stage in front of the microphone, she'd become entrapped by other matters, and wasn't around to give the impromptu star further instructions. This did nothing to put Miyako at ease.

"This is really a bad idea, Suoh," she told him for the umpteenth time. "I mean it, I can't sing."

Tamaki sighed in annoyance. "Miyako, for the last time, stop saying that. I know what I heard and I know what you're capable of. Now please, stop being so nervous."

"I'm not being nervous," she shot back. "I'm trying to explain-"

"ALRIGHT!"

The entire room collapsed surprise and pain. They shoved their hands into their ears to try and dull the sounds of feedback issuing from the megaphone Renge had just shouted through.

"Whoops, sorry," she said, thankfully not into the oppressive machine. "As I was saying, it's time to start the rehearsal. Everyone get into position. Stage crew, to the back!"

Everyone moved at her command, running across and up and down the theater hall to wherever they were supposed to be during the show. Miyako could only remain stock still, watching people pass her by from every which way while inwardly trying to keep from just running out the door. She knew Morinozuka would just stop her if she tried, not to mention the other people who had arrived not ten minutes, and wanted nothing more than to make this happen.

"Go Miyako!" Kenji shouted from the audience. "Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!"

"Would you sit down?" Rika grunted, pulling with all her might until her brother fell backwards into his seat. "This isn't a sporting event."

"It's a School Competition," Kenji replied, eyes narrowing. "Competition. That means there are winners and losers. That means I want our Miyako to win it for Ouran Academy. So GO GO MIYAKO! WHOOOO!"

His howls and whoops received several odd looks, along with a murderous one from the very subject of Kenji's peppiness.

"You are both so fired," she muttered.

"Miyako-senpai," Renge called out, standing beside the conductor with her hands on her hips like a drill sergeant. "Are you ready to begin?"

"I guess so."

"Great!" Renge cheered and smacked the conductor on the back, much to his obvious annoyance. "Get to playing."

He muttered something nobody could hear, then raised his bow. The orchestra moved in time with him, starting up the music as Miyako gave a defeated sigh and looked at the music she'd been given. Behind her, Tamaki began his part, not bothering to watch his hands and instead gazing at the back of Miyako's head. He was almost overflowing with pure excitement over what was about to happen. Renge was skeptical now, but wait until she heard this.

"_Itsudatte kimi no koto wo bokura wa koko de matteru kara  
>Ya na koto ga atta no nara bokura ni hanashi wo kikasete yo…"<em>

Everything stopped.

The orchestra stopped.

Miyako stopped.

Tamaki stopped.

A hush fell over the stage, and all eyes were on Miyako. Tamaki's jaw fell open, and he didn't even care how stupid he probably looked. Nothing else was important right now besides Miyako and her singing.

Her singing was horrible. It was awful, abysmal.

Everyone knew it, nobody more than Miyako herself, who turned around to give Suoh an obvious 'I told you so' look. Renge, for her part, just shrugged knowingly.

"Wow, amazing," she said flatly. "We're really going for the gold."

"Wha- WHAT WAS THAT?"

Tamaki followed his declaration by shooting out of his seat and grabbing Miyako by the shoulders, pulling her so close, their noses were touching, and she froze in place.

"When we heard you in the bathroom, you sound great!" he hollered. "That other song you sang, whatever it was. You were like a professional, but that… you're not singing badly on purpose, are you?"

"No," Miyako insisted, wriggling around until she was free from Tamaki's grasp. "How many times do I have to tell you, I don't sing!"

"Hang on a minute," Kenji cried, standing up again. "What song were you singing in the bathroom?"

"Nothing," Miyako shot at him. "I wasn't singing anything. Suoh and his pals were just having some kind of group delusion. You guys both know I don't sing."

At this, Kenji and Rika's eyebrows shot into their hairlines. Identical smirks appeared on their faces, making them look more like blood siblings than ever before. Miyako shuddered slightly, almost like those looks were making her fell cold.

"I get it now," Kenji gave a slow nod. "You were sing the Bonnie Tyler song, weren't you?"

"That's the only song Miyako can sing," Rika added, getting to her feet as well. "I've heard her sing a dozen other songs before and she was awful with all of them."

"So wait," Hikaru took the stage, looking incredulously as the maid and chauffeur. "You're saying that Miyako-senpai can only sing one song well and nothing else?"

Kenji shrugged. "I know, it's really weird."

Renge groaned, grabbing the closest thing to her, which happened to be the conductor's music stand, and hurling it at the faraway wall. The conductor cried out and ran after it, unnoticed by all save a few more compassion orchestra members, who all stood to help him.

"Yeah, it's weird alright," Renge seethed. "Weird and useless. Now what are we supposed to do?"

Tamaki, who'd been studying Miyako this whole time, glanced away at Kyoya, who sat at his place in the tech booth and gave him a nod. It was almost like he could read Tamaki's mind, but he'd probably just figured out the solution before anyone else. Either way, Tamaki couldn't have appreciated his best friend more. All he needed to do now was convince Miyako and Renge.

"Listen, we need to calm down," he said, walking forward to put a comforting hand on Renge's shoulder, a hand she shook away. "We can still do this."

"Yeah, how?"

Tamaki smiled at Renge, unfazed by her outburst. "Why, we just need to make a few adjustments to the program."

He grinned at Miyako. She sucked in a breath and looked away. Even so, Tamaki knew she had caught his drift, and he knew that she would help them. The Ouran Academy orchestra could handle the extra work, and he could learn a new song. With Miyako on the forefront, things sure to work out.

"Come on, everyone! The show must go on!"

* * *

><p>The night of the show arrived faster than anyone could've imagined, least of all Miyako. Every day after school, Suoh would be there without fail, dragging her to the auditorium, babbling nonsensically about how great everything was going to go and how excited he was. They had even put the Host Club on hold for the week. Even Fujioka approved of that even though she wasn't involved in the show. Apparently, she had a big test coming up and this provided her ample time to study in between dates with Suoh.<p>

On Saturday night, tensions were higher than the sky. Everyone had been fairly calm during the week, but now they had either finally come to terms with their fear of failure, or they were just sick of hiding how they really felt. For her part, Miyako just wanted it to be over already. She did not want to be stuck on a stage, singing a stupid song that she hated in front of hundreds of people. Were it not for Suoh and his pals all but guilting her into it, she would be at home right now, behind a bolted front door and in her nice, warm, cozy bed.

She would not be in a warm up room, not warming up, but instead trying to fix the collar of her dress while simultaneously ignoring the stupidly grinning person behind her.

"I heard you're doing the talent competition," Seiya said, leaning on his arm beside her.

"So you've said," Miyako answered dryly. 'Every single time we've talked in the last few days, you moron.'

"Are you nervous?" he asked, still smiling that cheeky smile of his.

"No," was Miyako's reply. "I just like to get ready in peace, please."

"Because if you are, I'd be happy to help you with that," Seiya obliviously went on. "I could take you out for dinner when this is over."

"How would that help me?"

Seiya deflated a bit, looking away from her waiting gaze for a few nervous seconds.

"…well, there's the thought of celebrating your victory in my manly embrace."

"Get out."

* * *

><p>Benio clapped her hands, calling the dancers to attention and giving them one final pep talk. She had just found out that Ouran had made some changes in their performance, and also that Lobelia would be going last instead of second. This didn't bother her. In fact, she much preferred it. It was, after all, customary to save the best for last. The only downside was that she wouldn't get to see the horror in Suoh's eyes when he'd have to try and top a performance like theirs. Oh, that would have been so sweet.<p>

But no matter.

"Alright, girls," she said. "You've worked hard these last few weeks. I couldn't be prouder of you. You show the true spirit of St. Lobelia through your determination and poise. When we go out there tonight, it's to show all of Tokyo that the maidens of Lobelia Girl's Academy are the cream of the crop. We will show our superiority to the foolish men of Ouran. We will be victorious!"

The girls cheered, screaming at the top of their lungs and filling Benio with more energy and excitement than she knew what to do with. She was unaware that not everyone present had the same vigor as her girls.

In the corner of the room were three invisible presences. The second of whom looked so to gagging from the display. He cocked a finger at them.

"Okay, those girls are nuts," he declared. "They are off their rockers and they are very weird."

"Be silent, you cretin," Elissa snapped. "You don't understand a thing about the theater. Why, these girl's a have true spirit that you could never hope to understand. Even one tenth would be too much for your puny brain to handle, you-"

"Yeah, yeah, blahblahblah you never had a life even when you had one," Hoki mimicked her mouth movements with his hand. "Come on, let's go see what those Kataki guys are doing now."

He raced out the door, Naru-chan not far behind. A few strangled sounds escaped Elissa's lips before she took off after them. Deeply affronted, she would make sure Hoki knew that as soon as she'd tracked him down again. It took a minute or so, but she finally located him. His hand was grasping Naru's and his back was to her. She stalked over.

"There you are," she yelled. "How dare you-"

"Shhhh," Hoki waved a hand in her face, coming very close to slapping her. This didn't go unnoticed, as Elissa prepared to start screaming. Then Hoki whirled around and she stopped in her tracks. His glare was intense, almost as strong as when he'd told of the spirit who insulted her. When he spoke, even his voice sounded more mature than she could've imagined. "Stay quiet."

So amazed was she, Elissa found herself complying. Without making a sound, she got up on her tiptoes to look over Hoki's shoulder and see what was so troubling that he would act like this.

A group of three sat around a small table. They were at the very back of the stage, hidden from everyone's sight except the three spirits. Huddled together, they spoke in hushed tone that the ghosts could hear fine nevertheless.

"So I have Takako on guard," said the young man in the middle, likely their leader. "She'll prevent anyone from coming near us should the plan be compromised. Have you set everything up?"

The young man on the right nodded. "I just finished up. Kigurou-sama. Kyoya Ootori was there when I arrived, but I was able to make the changes while he was distracted. The poor fool is none the wiser."

"Excellent," the one called Kigurou said with a toothy grin. "Now remember, Takako believes that Ouran and Lobelia are the cheaters, so she cannot hear a word of this. She's one of those 'honor is everything' types and she'd be pissed if she knew what's really going on. You writing all of this down, Keigo?"

The boy on the left, who'd been scribbling furiously in a small notebook, raised his free hand in a thumbs up. This appeared satisfactory to Kigurou.

"Alright," he said. "Tonight, Gentlemen, Kataki Private is going to take it's rightful place at the top. We may be going to some, shall we say, dirty lengths, but it's for the good of our student body. Are you with me?"

"Yes!" Kigurou's two lackeys declared, getting to their feet in perfect unison.

They were all looking rather cocky and sure of themselves, in contrast with the horror written on their faces of Hoki and Elissa. Even Naru, young as she was, knew something wasn't right here. She reached out and tugged on Hoki's shirt.

"I don't like those guys," she stated. "They're all creepy."

Slowly and without moving anything else, Hoki nodded his head.

"You bet they are," he said. He then looked at Elissa. "We have to go tell the kid."

* * *

><p>Miyako walked slowly, trying to prevent from smacking into anyone while her attention was on the buttons she'd been doing and undoing for the past several minutes. No matter how slow and careful she was, it always seemed she was short one button. The tedium wasn't improving her mood very much, but as long as nothing else went wrong, she had decided she could probably make it through this.<p>

She was going over in her mind all the ways she could avoid well-wishers on Monday when she turned a corner and found a familiar group of young men standing in a semi-circle. When she saw the three people in the middle of that circle, Miyako's hopes began to fade.

"What's going on here?" she asked as she quickened the pace.

Haninozuka and Morinozuka smiled in greeting, but no one else seemed to have heard her.

"Suoh," she said, stopping beside him and looking up at his serious expression. "What is it?"

Suoh closed his eyes and exhaled hard through his nose.

"Hoki and Elissa were just telling me a very disturbing story," he said.

Miyako blinked and furrowed her brow. Her silent question went ignored, at least by Suoh.

"Kataki is planning to cheat," one of the Hitachiin's gravely informed her.

"What?" she gasped.

Ootori gave a solemn nod. "It's true. It seems the Kataki Student Council President isn't confident enough in their performing arts, so he's going to much lower levels in order to claim a victory."

"Rotten bastards…" the other twin hissed.

"So what do we do now?"

Miyako looked around, finding only angry faces and no concrete answers.

"We can't cancel the show," Tamaki finally said. "Miyako and I have to go on in five minutes. Can the rest of you find a way to put a stop to this?"

"Put a stop to what?"

Seven heads whipped around. The ghosts remained in place since they were already in a position that the approaching Zuka Club members were perfectly visible. Benio at the forefront, they stopped nearly a foot away from the hosts, looking determined and more than a bit suspicious.

"What is going on here, Suoh?" Benio demanded.

Despite explicitly singling out Tamaki, it was Kyoya how stepped up and cleared his throat to speak.

"It appears our opponents, Kataki Private, have decided to sabotage our performance," he explained. "We have reason to believe that they've been planning this from the start, and will likely do the same to you."

Benio stared at him. Unlike Chizuru and Hinako, who were very open about their shock and disgust at the news, Benio was quiet and seemingly unaffected.

"How could they do this?" Hinako said, pacing around the room with fervor. "Those… those… rotten brutes. How dare they?"

"They have to be stopped!" Chizuru agreed, balling her hands into fists. "We must get them disqualified at once."

"But we don't have any evidence," Hunny piped in.

"What are you talking about?" Hinako demanded, grabbing Hunny by the jacket and pulling him to her. "You said you had reason to believe. How did you find out?"

Hunny-senpai gulped, but was saved from having to free himself by more physical means when Mori-senpai gently picked him up and pulled him away. The cloth of his jacket was ripped from Hinako's grasp.

"Please stay calm," Mori said, putting Hunny down behind him.

"Mori-senpai is right, this will not help us to fix the problem at hand," Kyoya said. "Unfortunately, we only know about this from overhearing their President, Kigurou-san, discussing it with his comrades. Our word won't be enough in this situation. We'll have to find actual proof."

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Benio asked.

A knocking drew everyone out of the tense atmosphere that had enveloped them, a few even jumping. They found a stone-faced Renge leaning against the wall. Silently, she pointed a finger as Tamaki and Miyako in quick succession, then jerked it behind her, eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Oh," Tamaki said in a slight daze. Coming back to himself, he patted Miyako on the shoulder go get her walking. "Everyone, I'm sorry. We have to go on now."

"It's fine," Kyoya nodded them off. "Do everything we rehearsed and don't worry. We'll take care of Kataki."

Tamaki answered with a nod of his own, but neither he nor Miyako looked entirely convinced. Nevertheless, they walked ahead of Renge, through the backstage door and out of sight. When they were gone, the remaining hosts went back into their semi-huddle.

"Alright," Kyoya said. "If they're going to sabotage us, they're most likely targeting our effects. I recalled one of them coming into the tech room while I was on the phone, they must have done it then."

"So all we have to do then is go and fix it, right?" Hinako asked.

"It may not be that simple," Chizuru said thoughtfully. "They have to know there's a chance of them being found out. They might have people on guard. We would need to find a way around them."

She brought a hand to her chin, thinking hard, while several pairs of eyes looked on disbelievingly.

"…I'm sorry, since when are you guys in the group?" Hikaru asked.

"Don't be ridiculous," Benio all but shouted. "This affects us just as much as it does you. If we fail to stop Kataki now, who knows what they'll do when we go on!"

Both lesser members of the Zuka Club nodded, standing firm and tall on either side of their leader, all but daring the Host Club to protest. In the absence of Tamaki, everyone turned to Kyoya for his next move. The Shadow King adjusted his glasses, briefly leaving his eyes out of sight as the fluorescent bulbs that kept the school lit up created a glare.

"I suppose," he paused for a moment. "The Host Club and the Zuka Club will have to work together."

His declaration was met with silence, but no objections. All faces were blank, all stances strong, and only Hikaru had anything to say in the end as he leaned over to discreetly whisper in his brother's ear.

"I _really_ don't see this ending well."

* * *

><p>"Alright, Takako-san," Kigurou gave the much taller girl a friendly smile. "Keigo here is going to make sure none of our effects are tampered with. He'll be inside the whole time, and you are to stay out here and guard him."<p>

Takako zeroed in on Keigo, who nervously waved while wiping the sweat off his brow.

"We don't know yet if Ouran has done anything," the President continued. "But be on guard anyway. If anyone with an Ouran uniform tries to get in here, do everything in your power to keep them out."

"Understood," Takako answered with a low bow. "On my honor, their treachery will not come to pass."

"Right, right, honor," Kigurou repeated with a half-hearted laugh. "Awesome."

'_And perfect.'_

* * *

><p>Miyako felt the cool, smooth metal of the microphone in her hand, glanced out her peripheral vision at Suoh taking his seat in front of the grand piano. The announcer completed his introduction, met with a respectable wave of applause. It was, predictably, strongest in the Ouran section. One row of seats in particular.<p>

"GO MIYAKO!" Kenji screamed, joined this time by another.

"That's my girl!" Shinji Kita howled, holding an enormous poster board with a blown up school photo of Miyako on it. "Daddy couldn't be prouder of you, Miyako-chan!"

Their cheering was cut of by the timely interference of Rika and Kyung respectively. They quickly pulled their brother/husband back down, earning Miyako's unending gratitude in the process. She looked again to Suoh, who gave a weak shrug and then motioned for her to turn back around.

She do so, biting down hard on her lip and only just realizing how much she didn't want to sing in front of all these people. The drama club and host club had been fine on their own, if really persistent and annoying. This? This was pure nerve wracking.

All to soon, the music started. In this first part, it was just her and Suoh, the orchestra wouldn't kick in until halfway through the first verse. Miyako very much wished they could come in early and cover up her voice. No matter how good she apparently was at singing this one stupid song, she was not going to calm down anytime soon.

Miyako backed away from the mic a tad in order to breath, just as her cue came.

"_Every now and then I get a little bit lonely, and you're never coming round…"_

As she sang, her voice carried to all corners of the large auditorium, including the bony faced young man alone in the tech room, watching the performance begin with a nasty grin on his face.

"Okay…" he muttered, bringing back up the program Ouran was using for their effects. "Let's see what we can do."

And he gleefully typed away.

* * *

><p>Blood pumped in Hikaru's ears as he ran alongside the rest of the unlikely team. On either side of him, somehow, were Hinako and Chizuru. Where did Kaoru get to anyway? They made a sharp turn at the end of one hallway and into the next.<p>

"How much further?" Kaoru said between gasps of air.

"We'll be at the back door in just a few more seconds," Kyoya answered, moving faster in order to get ahead of Benio, who was too focus on getting to their destination to notice or care. "It's down this next hall."

They kept going, refusing to slow or give in to tire. Every second that went by was another that Kataki could be using to ruin their hard work. Just the thought was enough to make almost everyone present want to strangle someone.

"There it is!" Hunny-senpai shouted as they came to the end of the line and stared down the open space.

"Hmm…" Chizuru said, tapping at her chin. "I don't see anyone."

"Maybe you were wrong," Kaoru suggested.

A massive weight fell from the sky right at that moment. It landed in the middle of the small crowd, sending several of them, including Kaoru falling to the ground. Hikaru rushed to his brother, kneeling to check and make sure he had no injuries. Meanwhile, their attack stood up straight, a wind blowing through a slightly open side door, making her short hair flutter.

"What the hell?" Hikaru whispered loudly.

The woman glared at him, a hard, penetrating gaze that made him feel as if she was trying to cutting him in half with it.

"I am Yoshino Takako," she coldly introduced herself. "What business to you have here?"

Again, everyone looked to Kyoya, except for the Zuka Club girls, who decided they'd be better off taking matters into their own hands. Benio walked right up to the girl, bringing a hand to her chin and gently lifting.

"My, what a strong face you have," she said with a suave smile. "It fits perfectly with the true strength you possess, maiden. Might I ask that you let myself and the others pass. We merely have some business in the tech room. I'm sure you- WAAH!"

Takako was moving bare milliseconds after the words 'tech room' were out of Benio's mouth. She dug a fist into the taller woman's stomach, and while she was winded, lifted Benio into the air and threw her against the wall.

"BENIBARA!" Hinako and Chizuru screamed, rushing to her.

"I cannot let you pass," Takako coldly stated, fixing herself in a fighter's stance. "I will not allow you to succeed in shaming the name Kataki."

"_Us_, shame _you_?" Hikaru could've laughed, but considering what he'd just seen, he wisely choose against it.

"You will not pass," her voice went as low as her body, ready to pounce on whoever came close.

Unfortunately, not everyone sensed the danger present, especially not Chizuru, whose rage was written clearly on her face when she suddenly let out a scream and ran at Takako. The martial artist knew she was coming immediately, and prepared to strike a knock out blow. Even if they were dishonorable cheaters, it wasn't her desire to hurt anyone.

Chizuru closed in.

Takako's hand went up.

And another one got in the way.

In an instant, two hands clamped around Takako's flipping her into the air before she had time to think. Takako gasped in pain as she hit the ground, but sprang up without fail anyway, just as she'd been trained since she was a child. Seeking out her attacker, the first thing she saw was a powder blue blazer directly in her line of vision. Only when she craned her neck up, did the identity of her new foe become clear.

"Takashi!" Hunny shouted.

"Go, Mitsukuni," his voice rumbled. "There might be more, so stay with the rest. I'll take care of her."

Though Hunny clearly didn't like it, he nodded all the same and took off. By now, Benio had gotten to her feet, albeit still in a daze. She was helped by Hinako and a still seething, but now much calmer, Chizuru. As the group ran, Takako attempted to make a break for them, but Mori was blocking her every move.

Shooting backwards, Takako took another stance, digging her feet into the ground and studying her opponent.

"Takashi…" she repeated the name she had heard before. "Might you by any chance be Morinozuk Takashi?"

Mori nodded.

"I've seen you fight in competitions," Takako said. "It is an honor to do battle with you. I wish it could be under more friendly circumstances, but my loyalty is to Kataki first, and I must protect it."

"And I must protect my friends," Mori said softly.

Takako ran for him, and the fight began.

* * *

><p>"…<em>every now and then, I get a little bit terrified, but then I see the look in your eyes."<em>

"_Turn around…" _Tamaki sang his part into the microphone, much less enthusiastically than when they first got started. He didn't know if it was nerves, or fear of Kataki's deception, or just plain not wanting to be here, but Miyako wasn't really singing her best.

She was still good, of course, and the audience seemed to like her, but she had sounded so passionate that day in the bathroom, so into it. Hear it was like she was just watching the clock, waiting for it to be over already. It wasn't good, not for anyone.

The next part of the song was when the big stuff started to happen, and that's when they'd know for sure if the others had been able to foil the fiendish plot.

At this point, would it matter?

For her part, Miyako was a strange combination of scared and bored as she got to the halfway point of the song. She sang the familiar (hated) words with as must power as she could muster, but her heart just really wasn't in it.

She could see her family beaming with pride, because they were all either too young or too oblivious to realize she wasn't enjoying herself.

Then her wandering eyes caught another, and they widened.

As the orchestra kicked in with there part, Miyako was left to wait for her next cue and stare right back at Seiya. His hazel eyes hadn't left her for a moment, it seemed, and when his face broke out in a smirk and his eyebrows shot up, Miyako knew he was aware that she was watching him back.

He slouched in his seat, placing one hand behind his head, almost elbowing the next person over in the process. His other hand, he held flat and palm side down. With a shrug, he shook it from side to side.

'_So-so?' _Miyako thought with recognition, followed closely by indignation. _'Is he saying I'm only so-so?'_

She was filled with an anger she couldn't explain. Nothing was more important to her in that moment than making him eat his unspoken words. Gritting her teeth, she gripped the microphone tighter and ripped it from the stand, right as it was time for her to sing again.

'_I'll show you so-so, you little-!' _

"…_every now and then I get a little bit restless and I dream of something wild."_

Behind her, Suoh perked up at the suddenly much stronger tone of her voice. When she sang the next line, and just kept getting louder, he was almost beside himself with joy and relief.

Down in the audience, Seiya smiled.

* * *

><p>Hunny-senpai was the first one there, ripping the door open with zero hesitation. He stormed inside, Hinako and Chizuru squeezing past everyone else.<p>

There was only one person inside, a shorter young man with skinny arms and a pale face, clothed in a Kataki boy's uniform. He barely had time to register that he was no longer alone before Hunny-senpai threw him to the floor, holding one arm behind his back and pulling painfully.

"Alright, little man," Hinako spat, slamming her foot down in his face threateningly. "Just what do you think you're doing?"

With difficulty, the boy lifted his head and cracked a nervous, highly unconvincing smile that did nothing against the number hard glares bearing down on him.

"I-I'm sorry," he gasped out. "I'm just here setting up for Kataki's performance. W-we go on next of course. So if you could please let me…"

He trailed off when Hunny-senpai pulled harder, making him shriek in pain. While this was going on, Kyoya calmly walked around them and went to the computer system, pulling up files and programs and scanning them thoroughly. After a minute, he looked up, rather perturbed.

"This is interesting," he said. "It appears we've decided to use our video projector rather than the light show we set up."

His ran the mouse across the screen and clicked while the rest of the group crowded him, all eager to see what Kataki had tried to do.

"I wonder what we'll be showing…" Kyoya murmured as the page loaded.

A moment later, everyone drew back from the screen, groaning and crying out in disgust.

"Oh my GOD!" Hikaru shouted. "What is that?"

"That's just gross, what's wrong with these guys?" Hinako said, rubbing her eyes as if it would remove the horrible images.

"Well," Kyoya coughed into his hand, trying to maintain his composure and doing a far better job of it than anyone else, save perhaps Benio. "That certainly would've caused a stir. Good thing we got here when we did."

"Do you really think it matters, Ootori?"

Kyoya glanced up at the wide open door, a vaguely familiar young man standing at the threshold. He was medium height with crew cut brown hair and beady brown eyes that were filled with mirth and ill gotten joy. He weaved his way through the Ouran and Lobelia students, standing before Kyoya like a great enemy.

"You must be Kigurou Fushou, the President of Kataki Private," Kyoya stated.

"Indeed I am," he nodded. "I'm also the one whose going to knock your pompous little schools right off their pedestal."

"Oh really?" Hikaru asked, slinking up behind Kigurou with Kaoru at his side.

"Because from our perspective," Kaoru went on.

"Thing's aren't looking too bright for you and your plan…"

"We have caught on…"

"And we will tell on you."

Kigurou snorted, much to everyone, including his still captured lackey's, bewilderment.

"What do I care about that?" he scoffed. "Even if I go down, I'm still taking you and your reputations with me. Keigo here is the smartest guy at our school, there's no way you can reverse the damage he's done. Just look! You're song is already almost over and the real show is about to begin!"

So into his gloating was he, Kigurou didn't noticed when behind him, Takako was thrown into view and then further attacked by Mori, leaving them to fight right within earshot of the cocky president's speech.

"We've already got something else special planned for you Zuka dames," he winked at Benio, who snarled back. "Everyone is going to be revolted by you. They'll find you all disgusting, and then what'll be left? Kataki Private, ready to pick up the pieces. Even if you try and expose me, how much to you want to bet the public will believe you? No one from Kataki will confess, we'll just make it look like your lying to cover your own asses. Once the seeds of doubt are planted, it'll only be a matter of time before your good reputations are in shambles. You can't do anything to stop me!"

"Oh no?"

At the sound of the voice, Kigurou's crazy grin fell and became a blank frown. A dark presence had taken it's place behind him, one that had only moments ago still been grappling with Mori-senpai, until her peer's words reached her ears, inadvertently revealing to Takako the truth.

Slowly, Kigurou turned around, a nervous and very fake smile plastered across his face.

"T-Takako-san, hi!" he weakly waved at her, sweating pouring down his cheeks as she bared down on him, eyes filled with rage. "This- this can all be very easily explained. You see, I was-"

"Stop."

He quieted immediately.

Takako stepped forward, not letting up on her horrible glare.

"You tricked me," her voice was a deadly whisper. "And you would tarnish the name of Kataki with lies and sabotage."

"I- I-" Kigurou stammered. "I- I just- I just PLEASE NOT THE FACE!"

**WHACK**

It was only a hit to the neck, but Kigurou went out like a light. He slumped over, but Takako caught him before he hit the ground and hoisted him over her shoulder. She then grabbed the one called Keigo and pulled him to his feet, staring him into submission before he could say a word.

"I can't tell you how sorry I am," she said, addressing everyone, but for some reason looking only at Mori. "Please know that I will make sure my school never stoops to such lows again. I will see to it that _this_-" she shook Kigurou's limp body. "Is removed from office at once."

"That sounds great," Hikaru said. "But what are we going to do about our performance. They've already messed it up."

"I don't believe that will be a problem anymore," Kyoya said smoothly as he closed out a page on the computer. "Without offence to you, Yoshino-san, your so-called smartest student it's too bright when it comes to computers. I fixed all the damage in under a minute."

Everyone looked around at each other, then out the small projector window at Miyako and Tamaki on the stage. Kyoya wordlessly flipped a switch, turning the speakers in the room on and allowing them to hear the song's climax in addition to watching the lightshow begin.

_"I really need you tonight!"_ Miyako sang. _"Forever's gonna start tonight, forever's gonna start… once upon a time, there was light in my life, but now there's only love in the dark. Nothing I can say, a total eclipse of the heart!"_

Everyone went quiet. The lights they had carefully set up had gone off perfectly, filling the room with greens and blues and reds and making everyone cheer. As the song wound down, even Miyako appeared to be having fun with it for once.

They received a standing ovation when it was over. Renge could just be seen at the side of the stage, leaping in the air, beside herself with joy at their success. The orchestra got to their feet as the conductor acknowledged them with a wave. Tamaki stood as well, going to stand next to Miyako. Taking her hand, the two bow together, smiling happily like the world was at their feet.

Back in the tech room, Hikaru and Kaoru couldn't help but smirk that the Zuka Club girls.

"Not to be rude," Hikaru said with relish. "But I think this is going to be a win for us."

* * *

><p>Monday afternoon found the Host Club seated at the various tables of their club room. Most of them were rather gloomy, as they'd been for the last day an half since the competition.<p>

"I can't believe they disqualified everyone," Kaoru grumbled. "It's not like we did anything wrong!"

"Unfortunately, the Kataki student's actions shamed the Principal, and he was forced to withdraw entirely," Kyoya explained. "With them gone, I suppose having a competition with only two schools was seen as a waste of time."

"That's just stupid," Hikaru said in agreement with his brother. "Try telling it to Renge. I think she's still in the girl's room screaming by the way."

Near the other end of the room, Haruhi rolled her eyes.

"Sounds like you guys a crazy time," she said. "I wish I could've been there."

"You didn't miss much," Miyako said, sipping some water in the seat across from her and Tamaki.

"Oh, come on," Seiya drawled, popping out from behind the couch and making Miyako shriek. "Don't put yourself down, you were fantastic, Miyako. At least during the second half. It's almost like you had a guardian angel there to help you find your focus. One who would love to be repaid for his assistance in the form of a dinner date."

Miyako's eye twitched, a vein popped out of her head, and the hand that held her cup shook. Seiya couldn't have cared less about any of this until the freezing cold water was splashing in his face. He screamed and went down.

"Don't ever sneak up behind me!" she shouted at his writhing form. "What are you even doing here?"

Seiya whined and moaned like a child while everyone else, living and dead, including a suddenly less dressed Hikaru and Kaoru, burst into laughter.

Their voices could be heard all thought the room and even outside on ground level, but only if you had very special hearing. One such person was there at that very moment, watching the figures in the window with disinterest. The only one that mattered to her was still on the floor and out of view, much to her annoyance.

"Seiya," she whispered. "Darling, it won't be long now…"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: The songs featured in this chapter are Mata Ashita from the Ouran soundtrack, and Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler.**


End file.
